Tangled Intentions
by Ness13
Summary: Playing with fire means getting burned? And so the burning will linger for two kids who made a mistake that they will always want to repeat but life continues to think otherwise.
1. Chapter 1

Hi and welcome to my new story! Its something I was working on periodically and decided to upload. Additionally, I have also joined archive of our own where I will publish this story there as well and maybe other works. I haven't stopped uploading my other story "Guessing Game," but since I lost most of my information when my computer collapsed, I've had a hard time remembering what goes where. I know how I want it to end its just getting there that might take a bit longer. So, I do apologize in advance but bear with me. Until then, you're welcome to read this story or any other story on my profile! Or none at all!

Thank you all once again for your love and I hope you enjoy this.

Ness

Chapter 1

The brisk air of a damp winter night in the city brushed against Alice's skin. It might have made her involuntarily shiver but it was welcomed. She had a fascination with the night—with its beauty and scenery. The dark sky stretched across but it was lit by the occasional stars that littered the sky. In her mind, it was a sense of beauty that even the darkest things in life could find a way to shine brightly and be stared at. Once she heard the blaring horn, she knew it was time to get home. She tugged the leash of her lovable German Shepard and they both strolled back home to end another day just so another could start the same way.

Up, like routine, way before her alarm clock went off, Alice found herself positioned at her vanity, brushing her raven-colored locks into order with her rose gold brush her mother had gotten her from overseas. She checked her trusty camel colored watch, which she received as a gift five years ago, and noticed she was right on schedule. In some ways, Alice was a Type A person. She liked to have everything in a particular way and order and she always needed to be on a schedule. Her life felt more organized and at pace that way and it had been a nasty habit she had picked from her mother. She took Luke on his morning walk and then headed off to school, while she tucked her nose behind her scarf to keep it from freezing.

Alice was a somewhat ordinary girl. Sure her father was a partner in a large fortune-500 tax company and her mother was an accountant, so they had a certain degree of money, but they were by no means filthy rich to spend their money carelessly. At least that's what her father had taught her growing up. He explained that money wasn't just a luxury to be wasted casually but a sense of value that must be earned. There always had to be a savings account that was higher than what she was willing to spend. All money aside, she decided that a public high school was the thing for her. She didn't want to be where overly stuck up human beings lingered all day long, she had enough of sometimes being one of them herself to want to be surrounded by them. Besides, all her friends were here and at the time, at the age of fourteen, it seemed natural to want to be where your friends were. That decision is still something that she keeps strong at almost eighteen years old.

Her classes went by relatively quickly. Math, science, English, music, foreign language and history. The same routine every day. Thankfully her friends did light up her day, especially at lunch time where they all gathered together. As Alice waited at their usual table in the cafeteria, she saw Bella come up first with her books tucked neatly under her arms and her shy smile appearing on her face. Bella was Alice's best friend of many, many years. They had seen each other through everything and their personalities were strikingly different. For one, Bella was a shy girl who blushed at lots of things because of her embarrassment and who almost always spoke in a whisper. Alice, on the other hand, was a range between normal and wild. She loved to have a good time and to be with friends to laugh all day long. She was willing to try everything at least once, just to say she did it.

Behind Bella came a tall, tan figure with a sweet aura around her. Her dark hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and her face was almost completely bare of all makeup except some light mascara. She was Bella's friend Maria. Alice took note of Maria every time she walked by, simply examining her, and taking notes. They were on good terms because the girl was nice—overall—but she didn't open up to her completely. They sat down and the small chatter began.

"So did you do the math homework?" Bella wondered, opening up her notebook to the unsolved math problems that were written there. She almost felt ashamed to ask her friends, but they already knew the drill. Alice rolled her eyes and slid her book over to Bella.

"Save the run around and just ask." She said in a slightly bored tone. Bella quickly took the book, before Alice could take back her word, and copied down the answers.

"I seriously suck at math." She grumbled under her breath and Maria laughed. "Think of it as charity work."

"My mother does charity work, I don't." Alice continued with her chin leaning against the palm of her hand. "I'm just helping out my friend." Alice never got annoyed that Bella needed the answers, she got annoyed at how she asked—that was a completely different story. Bella looked up to crack her neck and saw the tall blonde figure that swiped his card to walk inside. His figure was lean and tall, but not lanky. His hair was brushed to such perfection that it always made her wonder how long it took him. He was laughing at something a guy behind him asked.

"Jasper's coming." Bella whispered to Alice, making her look up and see him too. He was on his way over and caught his eye. A smirk crossed his face until he saw who she was sitting in front of. His smirk quickly fell which caused Alice's own smirk to appear on her face.

Jasper liked Maria, the pretty Spanish girl in front of Alice. He had a crush on her for a year already, but in Alice's terms, he had "no balls to actually do anything." She didn't understand how he didn't. He was a good looking guy so it was obvious in her mind that if he asked Maria out, she would agree. Jasper, however, had a different idea. So he stayed silent and begged Alice for help.

"Hey Jazzy." She called in a sickeningly sweet voice which caused him to scowl. He knew she used it to taunt him not as a term of endearment.

"Al." He nodded with a "fuck off" look that made her grin. Jasper and Alice were raised to be cousins of sorts. Jasper's mother and Alice's mother were friends in high school and somehow their friendship made it past their marriages and onto their children. Since they were little, Alice and Jasper had been around each other, so they know one another better than anyone else. In fact, that's why Jasper was able to ask Alice for help in getting Maria. Although she mocked him for half an hour, she eventually gave up and agreed to get information that would help him.

He was a perfect blend of a bad boy-meets good boy persona. His little silver hoop earring in his left ear off-set the near perfect appearance as did his, well-hidden, compass tattoo on the back of his bicep. He got it on his eighteenth birthday, with Alice sitting beside him, commenting how dumb and unoriginal it was. His mom knew he got a tattoo but definitely not something so big, and so far Alice was the only person who had seen it, besides his own guy friends. "Bella, Maria—" Alice nearly rolled her eyes at how obvious he was. He could barely keep his voice in an even tone. "How're you guys?"

"I'm good." Maria answered simply, with her pearl-white smile. Jasper could feel the heat rushing up to his neck, so he turned his eyes to Alice's best friend.

"And you? How's Edward?" Edward was Bella's college boyfriend. The mere mention of his name sent her into full on girly smile mode with blushing cheeks. Alice leaned over to Jasper and made a face.

"Why'd you start her off?" She whispered and he shrugged.

"I didn't think she'd get like that."

"Oh." Bella's sudden daze vanished and she snapped up straight, wagging her pencil around as if it helped her gather her thoughts. "Edward wants to throw a get-together at his place so you guys are invited." She looked over all three of her friends. At the mention of a get-together, Alice's attention piqued.

"Oh when?"

"Tomorrow. Saturday." The weekend was looming over like a tease and the news of plans hit Alice like water while in the desert. She hadn't gone out in a while, so she was glad to have something to do.

"Count me in." She raised her hand, ecstatically. Maria quickly joined in too which prompted Jasper to answer right after.

 _He's so obvious,_ Alice thought to herself, but decided to say anything against it. It would only annoy him too much to the point that they'd fight.

"And a few other people are coming too." Bella continued, ticking items off her fingers. "Rose is." Alice and Jasper quickly grinned. Rosalie was their friend of junior high. She had gone to a private school because she was chosen through a lottery system but they tried to meet up every once in a while. Rosalie was the epitome of party girl outside the home, but innocent white rose in front of her parents. "I think Lucy is also coming and some of Edward's friends." Bella shrugged. "Oh yeah! And Peter!" Alice's heart began to beat and she felt warm in her stomach. Jasper snorted with laughter and she glared at him.

Peter was someone who they all knew. He wasn't a particular close friend, but he was well-known and liked. He was a handsome guy that Alice had fallen for the first time she saw him at a fraternity party Edward hosted. He was a free spirit himself and took nothing to the drama end. Jasper quickly picked up on Alice's change in expression a few months ago and cornered her about it. When she finally confessed it to him he laughed but agreed that if she helped him with Maria, he'd help her with Peter. Before her brain even processed anything Jasper said and the implications it would have on her she agreed to it with their signature slap-handshake.

"What time is it?" Maria asked and Bella pursed her lips.

"Probably like seven."

"Perfect for us." Jasper agreed quickly and let his eyes wander to the laughing Spanish beauty in front of him. He wasn't sure what it was that enthralled him so quickly. Was it her unique tan skin she kept all-year round? Her big doe-like eyes? Her straightforward personality? He doesn't quite know for sure. He does know that he would love to have his arms wrapped around her waist all day long to show off to all his friends. He couldn't deny that he had daydreamed it a few times, but he would never admit it out loud, especially to Alice. She would never let him live it down.

Alice got home from school and was immediately greeted by a heavy two year old, oversized, German. Luke's fluffy tail wagged in excitement and he licked her up to the point where Alice squealed with laughter. It was routine for him to greet her like that whenever she returned home. Luke was hers and hers alone. She raised him, trained him and did whatever was necessary for him so in return he couldn't help but love her and smother her.

The house was empty, except for the cook that was in the kitchen. That meant neither parent was home from work, so she could do some homework and nap before dinner. Alice was a straight A student and took her studies as a top priority. She liked to be on top of the class and she liked to hear her parents praising her for her awards and certificates.

Somewhere along the line, her parents came home almost simultaneously. They greeted their daughter and freshened up for dinner with their invited guests. Alice's mother, Harper, was a gorgeous woman, with luscious blonde locks and crystal blue eyes. She was petite in height and delicate in frame, she looked so dainty that she resembled glass. She towered in her heels and had a menacing cold stare. She was an extremely vain person, so she strived to look beautiful at all times and tried to pass that method of thinking to Alice. In order to perfect her body to her standards of beautiful she got her boobs done and ever since then she's walked more confidently than before. She was also a vicious worker and worked harder than any of her coworkers to become a reputable accountant. She wanted to show that a woman could make it into any place a man could and her efforts paid off.

Her father Caius was similar to her mother. They looked like a perfect matching pair. He was tall with a broad frame structure. He had pale skin and dark brown hair. His light brown eyes were usually empty and indifferent to those he didn't know. He usually wore fitted suits—a tradition his father pressed onto him. He came from a wealthy background but he didn't take it for granted. He learned that everything in life came through hard work and after years of working at his company, he became a partner and felt a huge sense of pride in that.

The door suddenly sounded and as per usual, Alice saw her mom walked over and opened it. The high-pitched greetings and lip smacking sounds of kisses flooded the room. In walked Aro with his wife Amber tucked at his side. Alice always stared at how lovingly they looked whenever they went out. No matter where they went, they held each other before they went their own ways to mingle with their friends. From the corner of her eye she noticed two other figures trailing in. A tall, thin, figure cloaked in a new velvet dress smiled brightly at Alice.

"Hi Al!" Charlotte nearly squealed at the sight of her. She had her reddish locks pinned up into a ponytail. Alice grinned and hugged Charlotte right back.

"Hey Char," Behind Charlotte came Jasper with a slightly dazed face. Alice raised an eyebrow and leaned over to him. "So you're either high or tired."

"I just woke up from a nap." He yawned and scratched, his now, messed up hair. Jasper would never allow himself to look untidy in public, let alone in school, but afterwards he could careless—especially if he was tired. "I thought dinner was at our house this time." Alice's parents and Jasper's parents gathered for dinner at each other's houses at least three times a week.

"Yeah but my mom said something about your mom wanting to get out of the house." Alice shrugged. She remembered her mom mentioning how Jasper's mom felt suffocated within the four walls of their place since she took off from work. So they decided that coming over would be a good get away.

"Yeah, thankfully mom's going back to work." Charlotte giggled and Jasper rolled his eyes and hooked his arm around her neck while she yelped frantically.

"Jasper, let your sister go." Aro said sharply before turning back and talking to Alice's dad. Jasper gave his dad one long look and then snorted. They had an "okay" relationship and that's about as well as he could describe it. His dad could be a bit of a problematic person so they did tend to clash, but Jasper has been keeping his cool so there would be less blow outs. His arm was still around her neck when Alice caught onto his expression. She quickly tapped his arm and tugged it slightly. Out of instinct, Jasper quickly unwrapped his arm and said nothing. Aro noticed the interaction between the two and made a mental note in the back of his mind for further reference.

"Kids, join us for dinner." Alice's mom called and the three of them filed in to their appropriate seats. The fathers at opposite heads of the table and the women beside their husbands. Charlotte sat next to her mother so the only ones left of the right side of the table were Jasper and Alice.

"So how was school?" Amber asked with a warm smile on her face. She was genuinely curious as to how her kids were doing and she also wanted to spring forward a conversation. Alice swallowed the piece of chicken she put into her mouth and quickly answered, since her own kids were too busy eating.

"It was good, Aunt Amber. Just trying to finish this school year." Alice gave a smile and reached for her water to push down the dry taste left in her mouth. Amber had a fondness towards Alice since she's known her since the day of her birth. She considered herself her aunt and took great care in looking after her just as if she were one of her own kids. "Actually—" Alice continued, deciding now was the perfect time to bring up her plans. "We were invited to a party tomorrow, so I was hoping I could go." Caius raised an eyebrow and slowed his chewing.

"Who's party?" The racing thought of a secret boyfriend crossed his mind but Alice quickly quenched his curiosity.

"Edward. Which is Bella's boyfriend." Her parents knew who Bella was and considered her a nice girl.

"And who is this "we" you referred to?" Harper's questioning tone probed Alice as well. She felt like groaning. Nothing missed those two.

"Me and Jasper." She gestured to herself and the guy beside her who was gobbling the food down. When he didn't respond, she smacked his shoulder and he landed back in reality. He looked at Alice and she glared at him. "Bella invited us."

"Oh yeah!" A light bulb in his head went off when he caught on. Alice wanted to push his face into his food. "Yeah they said tomorrow around seven p.m."

"Are you guys taking a cab?" Aro wondered and Alice immediately nodded. He knew if he wanted answers he would have to ask Alice, because his son usually knew nothing or was reluctant to share.

"Well we don't mind." Caius looked over at his wife and she nodded.

"Yes, but be careful, because I heard there's supposed to be a snowstorm."

"The skies are pink outside which is never good." Jasper's mom shook her head and sipped on her wine. The two teenagers looked at each other and shrugged. A little snow wasn't such a big problem, especially if they were in a car.

"We'll be careful." Alice grinned pleasantly and the conversation turned back to the adults for the rest of the night.

Alice gave the cab fare to the driver and got out of the car to see Jasper walking up the street. The top of his hair was covered with snow and the point of his nose was red. He hid his hands in his pockets, because he was reluctant to wear gloves, and he had his back slightly hunched.

"What a coincidence." He said jokingly and she rolled her eyes, kissing his cheek in greeting. Jasper had left after her and had somehow arrived within the same time as Alice.

"The taxi driver was slow because of the snow."

"Right, right." The snow was probably a solid three inches, but it wasn't too bad. Alice was snuggled in warm clothes and her snow boots so she didn't feel too much. They both walked into the apartment and hear music booming through the stereo Edward owned. As a college student, he owned an apartment but shared it with three other people because that was the only way to make ends meet.

When they walked in they saw familiar faces instantly. It wasn't overstuffed with people but rather a handful of people that were known to them. Rosalie quickly spotted them and threw her hands and drink in the air.

"Hey you two!" She was loud and boisterous and gleaming with beauty. She had on her form hugging sweat pants and a simple black v-neck. She was definitely casual and was not looking to get with anyone tonight. Jasper and Alice instantly smiled and hugged her.

"Rose, it's great to see you." Rosalie laughed and started chatting with her two long-lost friends. Within seconds, Jasper spotted Maria and became stone cold. Alice followed his line of vision and rolled her eyes. Rosalie stifled and laugh and Alice pinched his skin until he gasped.

"Ow, what the fuck?" He rubbed the red mark on the backside of his hand and she looked at him expectantly.

"You're so fucking obvious. You might as well have a sign that says 'I like you Maria.'" Alice mockingly drew a line across her forehead causing Rose to laugh harder. However, her eye soon caught the good looking black haired guy that waved to her with the dimple showing on his cheek. "Oh my god, Peter is here and he waved at me." Jasper could literally see the stars shining in her eyes as she went off into dreamland.

"And I'm fucking obvious." He snorted and Alice flicked him off. Rosalie watched the interaction closely and noticed nothing had changed between the two friends. If anything, their bond had gotten tighter throughout the years that she's known them. She always believed they would get together but somehow they truly just remained just platonic. She didn't really understand.

They went their separate ways and mingled with the people in the flat. Bella and Edward were especially kind to their guests and made sure the liquor kept coming and the music kept blasting.

Bella was talking to Alice when she saw Peter and his friend George coming up to them. George was a friend of Edward's as was Peter, so she frequently talked to both. She knew Alice liked Peter so she whispered a quick warning and Alice immediately felt her heart flutter in her chest.

"Bella, Edward really knows how to throw a good party." George grinned, with his eyes slightly glassed. He wasn't drunk but definitely buzzed. Bella smiled and took the compliment.

"If you're having a good time, that's what's important." She took quick note of his empty can of beer and found an opportunity. "Do you want another beer?" Bella knowingly asked and Alice could feel the heat rise in her chest.

"Yes girl!" Bella laughed and took his can, leading him towards the kitchen.

"Wait here okay. We'll be right back." Alice shot her a nervous look but Bella felt accomplished. Peter and Alice remained in place, watching after the departing figures. Inside, Alice was screaming and crying and looking for someone to help her. She didn't know what the hell to do. She was glad Peter was still here but she couldn't come up with a thing to say.

"The party's pretty fun." Alice started over the music and Peter turned to her and smiled.

"Yeah, but who's in charge of the music?" He retorted jokingly and Alice giggled.

"I think Bella, but don't tell her I told you." She put a finger to her lip and Peter laughed. The little girl in front of him was one of the prettiest girl's he had seen and there was something that just seemed _fun_ about her. He could tell she was nervous though, so he figured he'd have to help her ease into comfort in order to see her having fun.

Jasper observed from the corner with Rose how his friend was talking to her crush. He couldn't help but slightly growl with envy. He wanted to be doing the same but instead he hid like a coward. Rosalie snapped her fingers and he looked to her.

"What's going on?"

"I'm watching our girl get it on with the man she likes." He laughed and Rosalie shook her head.

"I hope she gets it in, looks like it took her a while to get there."

"Wish me some luck too man, we're both your friends." He jokingly tapped his heart and she waved him in dismissal.

"Yeah, well you're standing here doing nothing so I can't wish shit for you."

"Way to remind me, now I'll drown my sorrows in beer."

Time went by and soon enough everyone was laughing and felt looser than earlier. The music kept blasting and the drinks kept coming. Alice was talking to Peter for some time until he was called by Edward. She quietly damned him and would find a way to get revenge when she saw him later, but Bella gave her some alcohol to calm her down. Alice was flitting through the party, happily and chatting with everyone. Alice was laughing at Jasper who was desperately pouting when he found out Maria left due to the weather an hour earlier.

"Ha ha!" Alice pointed and laughed and Jasper gripped her finger to try and shut her up. "Don't be so salty."

"Why am I friends with you?" He questioned humorously and she shrugged, chugging on the beer in her hand. Alice normally hated beer, but considering there was no actual liquor she had to take what she was given.

Edward then called everyone's attention and someone even lowered the music.

"We're going to play a game." He said with a smirk. "It's similar to seven minutes in heaven but that sounds gay so we'll knock it down to about three minutes."

"Do we have to play?" Lucy shouted and Edward gave her a look before nodding.

"Yes, the only one that can't is me and my girl." Bella giggled at him referring to her as his girl.

"Sounds fun." Rosalie noted as she chewed the ice. Alice soon enough felt a new rise of energy and Jasper questioned what was wrong with her.

"I have a good probability of getting in there with Peter." She gasped. "If Bella chooses then it's a done deal." She was nearly squealing and Jasper put his hands on her shoulders.

"Relax there, princess. You don't know for sure." She threw him a look and flicked his fingers off.

"Bella is my best friend. Are you upset that your chance with Maria is now over?" She jabbed and Jasper scowled knowing that she hit it spot on.

"I'm going to laugh if Peter isn't picked." He quipped and Alice threw him a wink. They all huddled together into the other room where there was a huge closet and a light hanging above us. Edward passed out blindfolds for every person to wear.

"The thing with this game is every person will be blindfolded and no one will know who is going in with who. Not even those chosen people—until their turn is up."

Bella slid the blindfold over Alice's eyes and her vision was now fully black. She felt a rush of adrenaline in her body and her heart felt like it might explode. She placed her trust in her friends to get this god given opportunity.

She waited patiently as time ticked on. It was so quiet that she could hear the howling wind and she wondered how bad the weather was outside. Suddenly she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders and she almost jumped. She quickly scrambled onto her feet and carefully walked to where the hands led her. The doors closed and she focused on her breathing, quickly thinking if her breath was fine she counted to ten. The doors quietly creaked open once more and she heard the quiet steps of someone walking in. The air was so thick and palpable around her that she felt glued to her spot. Her hands reached out and she felt the long sleeved shirt that Peter was wearing.

 _I love you, Bella,_ Alice thought happily. She made her way, bravely, into Peter's arms and he quickly bent down, pressing his lips against hers. Alice was pleasantly surprised at the sensation of his warm lips against hers. He led her every movement and soon enough she was pushed against the wall, with a soft groan. He took the opportunity to slide his tongue through her lips and within seconds, Alice's eyes snapped open behind the blindfold and she moaned at the sensation.

Peter's arms wrapped around her waist and constricted her against him, causing her body to tingle and heat up, especially in the lower region. Alice pushed herself higher up and started letting her hands roam his body as his did with hers.

The sound of the doors opening alerted the pair and they stopped their actions. "Okay, times up." Edward's voice hit them. "I'm going to take of the blindfold just to let you see and then it goes back on when you sit down."

Alice's arms were still wrapped around his torso and she felt a surge of energy run through her. The bow behind her head loosened and Alice released her arms to be able to remove the blindfold. The light strained her eyes and she almost hissed at it when she first opened her eyes. After blinking a few times she looked up and nearly screamed at the person in front of her. Jasper stood there, mussed hair, red lips and wide, shocked, eyes.

"WH—" Edward put a finger to his lip and Alice caught her voice.

"No talking." He chuckled and when Alice looked around she saw Bella's guilty eyes looking down.

"Sorry." She mouthed to her best friend and Alice felt the world of embarrassment over her. Her other arm was around Jasper's torso and his arms were embracing her. They quickly let go, as if they were on fire, and Alice shuffled out with her head down. Everyone sat down with their blindfolds, quietly, and she thanked god they couldn't see her blushing face. The game continued on for another thirty minutes or so and Bella could barely lift her head.

At nearly one in the morning, Alice slipped on her coat and walked out with Jasper on her tail. Rosalie had left earlier and Edward had basically kicked them out because he wanted to have sex with Bella. The silence was deafening, but that didn't last long when they walked outside. Alice's mouth dropped at the mounds of snow that weren't there before. Everything was layered with a thick coat of snow and even the roads were cleared from any traffic.

"Fuck." Jasper breathed, mirroring Alice's own thoughts. She quickly pulled out her cell phone and dialed her mother's phone. She answered on the second dial and her voice sounded slightly groggy.

"Alice, what's wrong?" She questioned and Alice heard some shuffling from the other side of the phone. "What time are you getting home?"

"The roads are covered in snow, mom, and I don't see a single taxi in sight." She blew out some air and watched the smoke form from her mouth.

"Let me see." After a few seconds, Alice's mom came back onto the line more awake. "It seems it's a blizzard and all transportation has been frozen. The only one's allowed on the roads are emergency staff." Alice sunk her teeth into her bottom lip and felt worry spread through her body. "Sleep over at Bella's then, Alice." Harper suggested. "I already had your father walk Luke earlier, so just sleep there and come home in the morning, okay?" She knew there was no arguing with that tone so Alice just sighed.

"Okay. Good night."

"Good night." The line went dead and Jasper peeked down at her, watching the little girl's eyes fill with worry.

"So what's going on?"

"We're screwed." She responded heavily. "There's no transportation home so we have to find a place to sleep."

"Well I doubt Edward would let us back in." Jasper grumbled knowingly and Alice kept gnawing on her lip. He noticed she was really worried and quickly did a mental scan of the area they were in so he could come up with a plan.

"Hey," His breath hit her face and she looked up into his brown eyes. "I have an idea. Do you have your wallet on you?" The question took her aback and suddenly she felt more worried than she did before.

"Yes…" Her answer was very calculated and cautious, but Jasper ignored it. "Do you?" He dug into his pocket and pulled out the black leather wallet he bought a few months ago.

"There's a hotel two blocks from here. It's not a five-star resort but it's better than nothing." He shrugged. "We can each get a room and meet up in the morning to head home." Alice sat on it for a moment before a chilly breeze made her shiver.

"It sure as hell beats freezing outside. Let's go." Jasper chuckled and with one quick turn, they made their way to the closest hotel. Unfortunately for them, all rooms, except for one on the third floor, were occupied.

"What?" Alice nearly screamed. _This cannot be happening. It cannot get anymore cliché and dramatic than this._

Jasper remained the calmer of the two and cleared his throat, diverting the attention from the overwhelmed girl.

"What she means is, how is there not two rooms available?" The middle-aged woman popped her gum loudly and pulled the pen from behind her ear.

"The storm filled this place up. Just like you two, other people came as well when they announced transportation was on standby." Alice and Jasper felt like the only two morons that didn't know of that until they walked out. "So there's really one option left. One room for you two." She didn't really understand the problem, the two looked like a couple anyways and she was sure they had done this before. Jasper braced himself for the scandal Alice was about to start, but to his surprise it never came.

"Fine." Her answer was stiff. "We'll take the room." Jasper's eyes went wide but she didn't dare turn around to see him. She just knew they needed a room and now was not the time to be picky. The older lady handed over the key and they both were led to the room.

When they entered Alice noticed it was a small, but cozy room. It had a full size bed and a large TV by the wall. The colors were dark and added to the richness of the room. Jasper quickly took off his jacket and rubbed his hands together to warm them up.

Alice felt like the temperature in the room pick up and she felt hot. She turned around and saw Jasper minding his own business. The feeling of her staring caught his attention and he felt self-conscious.

"What?"

"I'm going to bed." Alice announced and stripped from her jacket and jeans. "Don't look at me!" Jasper quickly whipped around and she jumped into the bed with nothing but her undergarments and her sweater. She felt uncomfortable with the lack of clothes, but it would have to do.

She heard the clock ticking and when the lights were suddenly turned off, she felt the shift in the bed. Her heart accelerated loudly and she pressed her hands together in hopes that it could stop it.

"Al," Jasper called to her. "Stop being such a mess." At the sound of his teasing, she whipped around and stood nose to nose at him.

"I am no—" His eyes flew to the sweater that shifted to reveal some cleavage and the blankets that were pushed off her thighs, revealing her silky white skin. Suddenly he felt a throb in his lower area and he swallowed. The silence hung in the air thickly with neither party knowing what to say.

"Jazz, about what happened earlier—"

"We didn't know that it was each other." He finished for her and she nodded, her skin barely touching his. Both of them suddenly remembered the intensity of their kiss from earlier and now even the closeness of each other made them feel hot. Alice squirmed and Jasper immediately recognized her movements as signs of arousal, which only caused his own arousal. "But it was good." He took the chance and let his desire speak. Alice's head snapped up and she saw that his eyes were slightly clouded with lust and she bit her lip, nodding in agreeance.

"Mhm." He could feel himself twitch and he noticed they somehow got closer.

"And if we did…"

"Did it again?" She finished for him and he nodded. Their breathing hit each other in the face and without another guess they both pounced on each other. Their lips crashed against one another and their hands groped every inch of their body.

Jasper could hardly wait and nearly ripped off her sweater, kissing every inch of her skin down to her breasts, where she moaned loudly. It was a sound he had never heard and it only made him look for more sweet spots to hear her do it again.

Alice's head was filled with desire and she could barely believe the sounds that were coming out of her mouth. She was told she was loud, but this was definitely different to what she had done before. She pressed her hand against Jasper's head on her breast and felt herself coming to a brink of pleasure she could hardly believe. With one final flick of his tongue, Alice yelled in pleasure a sweet sound that had Jasper's dick harder than he could have ever imagined. Alice was feeling like a whole new person and knew that she was done so Jasper could do as he liked to get off, right now she didn't care.

She felt the mattress shift and Jasper was suddenly hovering over her, placing himself at her entrance. They made eye contact briefly and Alice suddenly realized it was real. However, before she could say anything, he pushed himself in in one fluid, smooth, motion and she felt her insides light up.

 _What? Again?_ She had never experienced a double orgasm or any pleasure after she would come, but suddenly she felt like it was starting all over again.

Jasper braced his arms beside her, encaging her, and thrusted, feeling the warmth of her envelop him. He let out a rugged groan and she felt a whole new level of excitement surging. He pushed a little harder and she cried in pleasure, only making him push himself further to hear more.

"More." He moaned with each thrust into Alice. "More." She threw her head back as he spread her legs wider.

"Oh my god," She cried. "Deeper Jasper. Fuck me deeper." The vulgarity that came from her mouth made him immediately follow orders. The more he thrusted the more she moaned and the more pleasure he felt through his body. Nothing mattered right now—nothing. All he could see was Alice's eyes screwed shut as she threw her head back and yelled in pleasure.

He suddenly felt Alice's legs start clamping up and noticed the way her muscles contorted. She was about to cum again. Something in him ignited and he suddenly raised her hips slightly so he could push forward at a better angle. Her eyes snapped open and she felt the crazed sensation run through her and climb until it reached its point. Her toes started curling and her world shattered around her in a swirl of nerve ending. Her fingernails pressed against his shoulder blade, causing him to moan and thrust harder.

Alice breathed heavily, now in a completely dazed state and felt lethargic. Jasper noticed her sated expression and felt himself reaching a peak, causing him to go faster for more sensations. He suddenly cursed out loud and felt himself finish, his hulk-like energy suddenly gone. He felt a thousand pounds heavier but also a thousand times more satisfied. They both had weak smiles on their faces before he rolled off of her and plopped beside Alice, both of their eyes shutting almost instantly.

The glare of the sun peeked through the windows of the hotel room reminding everyone that it was morning and it was time to get up. Alice snuggled closer to the blankets but frowned when they slipped off of her. She whipped around in the bed and noted one thing. A compass tattoo. She swallowed hard and started recalling the events of the night before. The more she thought about it, the hotter her face got and the further she wanted to sink in the bed.

"No way." She breathed, shaking her head. For any hint of confirmation that her mind just made these events up, she lifted the sheets from her chest and yelped. She was naked—further confirming that her mind was _not_ fucking with her.

The sharp sound of a female voice woke Jasper from his dead-like sleep and he groaned. However, the more he buried himself into the pillow the more he realized that the sheets he was on were not his. His breathing twitched, alerting Alice, but he pushed himself to continue sleeping. He didn't know what to do when he woke up.

Besides the nerves Alice felt in her stomach, she grabbed the pillow she slept on—with shaky hands—and flung it at him, hitting him by his shoulders. He flinched and heard her click her tongue at the top of her mouth.

"I know you're awake." She hissed. "Wake up." It was useless. The girl knew it considering she used to wake him up from naps 98% of the time when she went over his place. Begrudgingly, Jasper slid up into a sitting position, giving himself a moment to think of something to say when he saw her.

Alice couldn't help but notice his bare back and the light indents her fingernails left around his shoulder blade. As if she couldn't have felt any more embarrassed she clutched the sheets closer to her. Jasper finally turned around and yawned lazily.

"Morning." His cool attitude gave her a sense of confusion and relief—but she felt more relieved.

"Yeah good morning." She replied. "Get up, it's time for us to go. Transportation has to be moving right now." Jasper reached over for the neatly placed remote on the night table next to him and turned on the TV to the news.

Apparently, the snow was over six inches, but overnight it was cleaned up so transportation was available. Alice's phone vibrated violently against the night table, causing her to jump. She reached over, holding the sheets against her chest, but they didn't cover her back. In fact, Jasper got a full view of her pale, smooth, back and he could almost feel the warmth that radiated off of her. Flashes of last night rushed to his mind and he bit down against his teeth, closing his eyes and trying to manage the "already-issue" between his legs.

"Yeah, mom, I'll be home soon." Alice tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Yeah Jasper slept over at Edward's too." Jasper peeked at her and saw her biting her lip and nodding continuously. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. I'll text you when I get home." Another nod. "Love you too. Bye." Alice hung up and the air became quieter than it was before. Even the sound of the TV didn't distract them.

"What'd Aunt Harper say?" Saying that and knowing what he did with her daughter just sounded off.

"She wanted to know if you were fine too and to let her know when we're on our way out from Edward's."

"Ah. Edward's."

"Yeah, our parents would probably flip if they knew we were in a hotel together." Another long awkward silence before Jasper decided it was time to get up and get going. He jumped up onto his feet, forgetting the fact that he was naked, and made Alice gasp and screw her eyes shut. Her reaction was comical and made Jasper bust out laughing in a howling-effect. "Shut up and get some clothes on!" She yelled, reaching over with one hand and throwing another pillow at him. It hit him square in the chest and he realized her eyes were still squeezed together and that her ear had a pink color to them. That's when his laughter subsided slightly and he grabbed his boxers that were thrown on the floor.

"I'm leaving." He called waltzing to the bathroom with laughter still rumbling through him. When she heard the bathroom door close, she opened her eyes and released a heavy breath. She just saw Jasper naked, literally shinning with the sun gleaming behind him. She shivered and rubbed her hands against her arms.

When Jasper walked out fully-dressed in the same clothes as the night before, he saw Alice was already ready to go—jacket and all. She had his jacket in her hand and tossed it at him.

"Let's get going." Her voice was cut and dry. He slipped his arms into his jacket and followed her out, watching her power-walk out of the hotel and hail a cab. She said the two directions to the driver and they rode in silence into the white wonderland outside.

The air was so thick and tense that Jasper felt like he would've had better luck walking back. Jasper noted that Alice's legs were crossed one on top of the other and she was pressed up against the door of the car. Suddenly her eyes widened and her mouth slightly opened. Her eyes flew to the window and she barked at the driver to please stop.

"I'm getting off here." She dug into her wallet and passed over the few bucks she owed him. Jasper frowned at her quickened movements.

"Where are you going? This isn't your stop." Alice stopped for a moment, with the door opened.

"I know, I have to get something at the pharmacy." Her shoulders straightened and she stood up. "Bye Jasper." She banged the door shut and she rushed across the street, narrowly missing getting hit by a car.

"This stupid girl." He growled but he couldn't say anything else because the driver pulled away.

"Girlfriend's mad?" The driver asked and Jasper looked up into the rearview mirror.

"She's not my girlfriend." He corrected. "She's like a cousin." The driver's eyes nearly fell out of his face but he decided to not respond anymore.

Jasper couldn't help but see that she was in a sudden hurry and she seemed annoyed. She even called him Jasper, which she usually doesn't do. _A pharmacy? Was she sick?_ The more Jasper mulled it over, the quicker it dawned on him. _Fuck, we didn't use a condom._

"We're here, kid." The driver's voice snapped Jasper out of his thoughts and he saw he was already home. He dug into his wallet and gave the appropriate amount, tumbling out and up the stairs to his place. He brought out his phone and quickly searched for Alice's name.

 _"Why didn't you tell me why you went to the pharmacy?"_ He was greeted by the warmth of his home and the loud music that blasted from Charlotte's phone.

"Hey." She greeted, lowering the music and wiping her forehead free of sweat. "How'd the party go?"

"Good, the same old."

"Well, mom and dad were asking for you so go to them for a moment when you get the chance. Oh did Alice get home safely? Dad kept mentioning that too." _Of course, he did_. His father loved Alice probably more than him.

"She's fine, don't worry about her." As he said that he pulled out his phone to see if there was any response, but there was nothing. She didn't even have her read receipt on to see if even bothered reading it. He ground his teeth and walked towards his parents.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Alice sat on top of her bed with her phone laid faced up and her eyes staring at it. She had seen the message Jasper sent her not long after she purchased what she needed from the pharmacy. She just wasn't sure how to answer. She didn't want to start talking about how she needed to buy plan B because they forgot to use protection during something that shouldn't have happened.

Luke jumped on top of her bed and snuggled up to her. She pet the top of his head and threw herself against her bed. When she closed her eyes. she could almost feel the touch of Jasper's fingers against her body and his breath against her skin. She pressed her legs together and bit her bottom lip. The memories were so vivid in her mind that she could feel all the pleasure right now. She sat up and felt the arousal throb through her body. She thought something that she couldn't bring to say out loud. She wanted it to happen again.

Sunday flew by and before anyone knew it, Monday came around. Alice could feel the nerves tingling in her body at the mere fact that in a few moments she would see Jasper for lunch. Bella was waiting for her at the lunch table with a wary expression. She knew she fucked up.

"Hey." Bella said in a small voice and Alice sat down, sliding her math book towards her friend. "Alice."

"Hey."

"I'm really sorry about what happened Saturday." Bella went into immediate rant mode. "I swear I was going to pick Peter, I really was, but Edward thought it'd be a funny joke if it was you and Jasper." Alice narrowed her eyes and blew out some air.

"Since when does Edward get to pick?" Her voice did sound a bit acidic, but it wasn't towards her friend but rather at the situation and at her friend's boyfriend. He was clearly a prick and his sense of humor was _not_ appreciated.

"You're right. I'm sorry, Al." Bella put on the puppy dog eyes and Alice sighed, deciding to move on from it.

"If your boyfriend pulls some funny shit like that then I swear I'm sticking my boot up his ass." Bella immediately brightened and nodded without second thought.

"Deal." She noticed that Alice was acting funky so she grew more curious. "What happened after Saturday anyways?" Alice's back straightened and it didn't go unnoticed. "Were you and Jasper, okay?"

"You mean after you guys put us in a closet?" Bella twisted her lips. "We hooked up and it was worst because I thought it was Peter." Alice covered her face with her hands.

"What do you mean it was worst?" Bella questioned and Alice squirmed in her seat. "How hard did you guys go?"

"This is your guys' fault." She groaned and Bella's heart started to beat anxiously in anticipation.

"What happened?"

"I slept with him."

"WHAT?" Bella yelled into the loud cafeteria and immediately a few people beside them, snapped their heads towards them. Alice immediately hushed her in an effort to not draw the attention of the whole room.

"Shut up!"

"When the hell did this happen?" She hissed.

"When your boyfriend kicked us out. There was so much snow, transportation stopped so we had to go to a hotel—"

"Why didn't you let me know! I would have let you guys back upstairs, oh my god, I'm sorry." Alice ignored her friend and continued the story, taking a quick glance around to make sure Jasper wasn't around.

"There was one room—and I know that it sounds as if it came out of a cliché movie." It sounded like something out of a cheesy romantic novel. It almost sounded unrealistic. "And there's not much more to explain." She saw her friend's dumbfounded expression. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were as wide as saucers.

"I can't believe this…" Bella shook her head. "Have you spoken to him since then?" Alice shook her head violently.

"No, I just don't know what to say. It's so weird." She hadn't even responded to his original text message and the one that followed afterwards. Bella's eyes caught movement and she saw it was Jasper walking in with one of his friends.

Jasper noticed the girls and the way Bella's eyes caught sight of him. He could feel the awkwardness start to bloom but he had to push forward. He made his way over to the table and started conversation. Alice was unusually quiet and simply pulled out her phone to text. Jasper took notice and scowled.

"You didn't answer my message." He said and Alice's fingers stopped moving.

"What?"

"I texted you the other day, but you didn't answer."

"I must've forgot, my bad." She ducked her head and continued swiping through social media, occasionally saying things that went according to the conversation.

The following days went on the same way, except Maria was also thrown in the mix so it was just a huge bowl of tension. Bella felt so guilty for the problems she caused, but every time she tried to apologize Alice gave her a sharp look.

Alice was dealing with her own issues. She felt hot and bothered more than usual, especially if any sort of memories from that night came back, but it was more frustrating because she knew she couldn't do anything about it. She sat on her bed, literally shaking with nerves in her black dress. Her mother invited Jasper's family over for dinner, like usual. The last few days had been at his house and she had gotten away with not showing up because of "school-work." This time around, she couldn't escape so easily.

The doorbell rang and Alice jumped. Luke took off barking and she settled her heart with a deep breath. When she walked out she saw Aro walking away with her father towards the living room area, while her mother greeted the rest at the door.

Alice noticed there were only two other people instead of three and her calm façade started to dissipate. Amber noticed Alice's wandering eyes and immediately stepped in.

"Charlotte couldn't come today. She was at her friend's house working on a school project." Amber said with a warm apologetic smile as she followed her friend towards the dining room.

"Of course, school work comes first, doesn't it, Alice?" Harper threw a look at her daughter who seemed to be worrying about something else. Alice gnawed at her lip and avoided eye contact with the person beside her.

 _'Shit, Charlotte isn't here. There's no buffer.'_ She kept replaying scenarios of awkwardness between her and Jasper ever since they slept together. Sure, they spoke a bit after that but there was an underlying of something beneath the surface. The mere sensation of him beside her made her more aware of him and took her back to the day they had sex. She slammed her teeth together and tried to focus on her breathing. She could do this—she had done weirder shit before. She had to simply pretend that she was over it and soon enough she would believe it.

"I'm going to the bathroom, Aunt Harper." Jasper's voice cut into the air and into Alice's concentration. He noticed she was tense, but she barely even turned his way, which was unlike her. Harper nodded and waved her hand.

"Okay, don't take too long or the men will bore us with business conversation." Both women laughed and walked along, leaving the two teenagers in place. Alice should have left with them but there was a tug against her blouse holding her back. She prayed that no one would look back and see it, so she stayed still and watched the female figures walk further away. When they were out of reach, Jasper wasted no time in gripping her wrist and turning her so she was with her back against the wall.

"What are you doing?" She asked in a half-gasp-half-angry tone.

"Well you're finally speaking to me." He noted sarcastically and she narrowed her eyes. "What's with you?"

"Nothing." She muttered under her breath like a spoiled child. Jasper knew her for too long so he knew it was a lie.

"Save the lies."

"Don't you think it'll be awkward if our parents find out we slept together." She hissed at him—saying the words out loud to him for the first time. Her brows were pushed together and her lips were parted in a growl. Now that Jasper knew, he felt more relieved even though that shouldn't be the case. She was right, it would probably be a storm if their parents found out. Especially, if they found out how it went about and where. He pushed those negative thoughts away and focused on the angry in front of him.

"They're not going to find out because I'm not going to tell them and you're not going to tell them." He turned his finger to the appropriate person he spoke of. "You're the only one making it noticeable with you attitude." Alice knew he was right. She had barely looked in his direction since he arrived and she shuffled to stay closer to her mother.

"I—" Jasper could tell he was spot on but Alice would never admit she was wrong.

"So, the pact is whatever happened or happens is not to leave our lips. Go it?" His tone was firmer than before and with the look he was giving, Alice suddenly felt warm. Her fingers itched to pull his hair so he could be closer to her. She cleared her throat and ran over the words he said in her head.

"Wait, what do you mean by _happens_?" Jasper, without second thoughts, crashed his lips against hers, surprising her. Instead of pushing him away, she gripped the edge of his shirt and pulled him closer. His lips were soft and his tongue was hot against her. It made her lose her cautiousness of her surroundings and the more Jasper pulled her by the waist, the more she felt it between her legs. She wanted him again—at this very second. She pulled back and saw his usual soft brown eyes were a striking shade darker and glittered with lust.

"I won't lie to you. I want to have sex with you again." Jasper should feel ashamed of saying something like that to someone he grew up with. He didn't though, he was a man and he had instincts. And he knew her for too long to sugar coat what he wanted to say to her. He knew Alice was a very attractive woman and although he didn't like her in that sense, he wanted her again. Maybe one more time—to was her from his system would be suffice. However, he nearly tackled her right then at her own answer.

"Me too. I want you." She whispered in a voice that did not sound like her own. Jasper knew she was brazen, but he didn't think she would admit it. What girl would? He went to go lean in and consume her once again, but she pushed him back.

"We can't. Our parents are in the other room." She murmured, checking the area behind him. "How about we hang out after school tomorrow at your place?" How many minutes were in a day? He wasn't sure but all of a sudden time became of the essence to Jasper. She untangled herself from him and fixed her hair with her fingers so it laid neatly. "I'm going first. You come in another two minutes, you hear me?" Her bossy-domineering self was back and gone was the shy girl he had pushed against a wall. "Go to the bathroom and fix yourself." She gestured towards his pants and he grinned. She walked away, swaying her hips naturally and he chuckled to himself. He would have fun with either side of her.

"Where'd you go?" He heard Caius ask her.

"Jasper needed toilet paper." His smile widened at the way she bluntly lied.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Alice bundled up for the cold morning and made her way to school, catching up with Bella on the way in. Luckily for Alice, she never mentioned the incident from Edward's house, which she was thankful for. Maria was back in school today so speaking of that in front of her made her uncomfortable. On top of that, if Maria found out about Alice's little rendezvous with Jasper she would probably never look his way again and it would probably piss him off that Alice opened her mouth.

The day strolled on by and as it started reaching the end, she felt something shoot through her. She recalled how Jasper told her he wanted to have sex again and how she agreed. As if he was a mind reader, Jasper texted her.

 _I'll meet you at the front gate after eighth, cool?_

She smirked at the message, feeling good that this thing was still on. She quickly typed back a quick "sounds good."

When the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, Alice coolly collected her stuff and threw her bag over her shoulder. She swiftly made her way out, ignoring different pair of eyes that followed after her. She was an extremely good-looking girl and it didn't go missed by her peers, however, her face didn't always look approachable so most potential suitors stayed back.

At the gate, just like he said, was Jasper. He had his bookbag slung over one of his shoulders and his hand other hand in his jacket pocket. When he saw sight of her, he grinned. They had seen each other during lunch, but they played it off, acting how they usually acted with one another. Especially with Maria present, Alice noticed how much of a dozing-off buffoon her friend was. What she didn't know is while Jasper really did want Maria and felt the flutter in his stomach when he sat next to her at lunch, he physically kept wanting Alice. She sat less than three feet away from him and he could feel his body betray him and yearn for her instead of the girl he liked. She even wore a dress with her tight black see-through stockings, teasing him even more.

"Ready to go?" Alice asked rhetorically and he nodded.

"Yes." He started walking beside her, in the direction of his place. They had small talk all the way until they got there but the tension was building between them.

As they made their way up to his apartment, they noticed it was empty. Even Jasper and Charlotte's old nanny had left for the day. She usually took care of the house while everyone was gone and left for a break until later at night. The house felt strangely quiet to Alice, she could hear the pounding of her heart clearly through the walls and worry started to settle in.

 _'What do I do? Do I start it off?'_ Jasper tossed his bag on the floor and noticed the way Alice stood while twiddling her fingers. He made his way over and to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, placing his chin on top of her shoulder and breathing into her ear. She shivered and bit the inside of her cheek.

"Do you want to start?" Jasper asked, appreciating the way her eyes closed at his little tease. She just barely nodded before he flipped her around and pressed his lips against hers. Her arms immediately wrapped themselves around his neck and she pushed against her toes to get closer. Jasper molded their lips together and he then felt Alice nibble against his bottom lip, causing him to moan.

He pulled back, crazed with desire and pulled Alice to his bedroom, tossing her on top of the bed. She didn't feel any sort of offense at being tossed, if anything she felt more on fire than before. Jasper crawled on top of her, kissing her shoulder up to her neck. His hands worked quick to disappear the dress she had on, until she was left with her sheer tights on. Something about her only in encased tights made him wilder.

Alice clumsily pulled off his shirt, barely giving any moment to actually breathe. Suddenly something dawned on her and she pulled back, breathing heavily.

"Wait." She groaned but Jasper ignored her, peppering her stomach with his lips.

"What?" His hot breath only enticed her more.

"Condoms." She panted and it clicked in his head. That's right, they had to be more careful. They couldn't carelessly have sex without worrying about consequences. Alice already took plan B once and she wasn't planning on taking it again for a while. Jasper pulled off of her, leaving Alice immediately cold. He reached into his drawer and rolled on the condom with such ease. He hovered over Alice's line of vision again, and encircled his fingers around the band of her tights. Smoothly he shimmied them off of her and she felt a brisk breeze fan over her newly exposed skin. She shivered from both the breeze and the way his fingers caressed her skin as he removed her tights.

Their skin was completely bare and millimeters from touching each other. Their breathing was deep and ragged, so Jasper once again pushed himself in, hardly able to contain himself. The wanting sensation that threatened him since the last time they were together intensified. The satisfaction he felt made the wait all worth while and Jasper's ears perked at the appreciative groan from the girl below him. He looked down and noticed Alice's dark locks fanned out around her and her pale skin, blooming pink at her cheeks. They crashed lips and moved in a rhythmic pace together, their moans and cries echoing throughout his bedroom walls.

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They laid in Jasper's bed, sheets strewn across them and surprisingly laughing at how casually they were talking. Jasper felt extremely relaxed and sated for the moment, in fact, he even itched for a cigarette. He noticed Alice's eyes were bright and strands of her hair were messed up.

"Not to damper the mood," Jasper started. "But where does this leave us?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, do we continue this or do we just stop it now?" He turned his head to look at the girl he knew literally all his life, naked—beside him. She tilted her head slightly and pursed her lips.

"I don't know about you, but I had fun today." She shrugged. "And the last time." He snickered and sighed.

"I have to agree with you. Would it be wrong to say I want to continue fucking you?" _Again, that vulgarity_ , he thought.

"It's flattering in a weird sort of way. I don't expect much more from you." Her snipped response made him laugh that much harder. That's why he didn't care how he said things to her, because she didn't get offended and he didn't have to hide how he wanted to say things to her. A shadow of trouble flickered across her face, capturing his attention.

"What happened?"

"Isn't it wrong to be doing this behind our parents backs?" She nearly whispered. "We hang out all the time. For fuck's sake they'd have aneurism if they knew, considering they raised us like family." Her voice became a mumble towards the end, he was surprised he even her that part. He understood her worries, what they were doing _was_ wrong. However, he didn't share her worries. The chance her parents or his parents found out was slim. They didn't pay their kids that much attention and because they were raised together for so long, hanging out by themselves wasn't weird. They had an advantage.

"They're _not_ going to find out, Al." He soothed over and she took a deep breath. "We're young, we're supposed to just go with our instincts."

"You're right." She nodded. "You're right."

"By the way, did Bella ever ask about that night?" Jasper suddenly asked, running a hand through his hair. "She keeps looking at you like she wants to apologize."

"She figured I wasn't happy with what she did the other night." She replied, pinching the soft material between her fingers. "Apparently it was her little boyfriend's idea." She rolled her eyes. "I swear, I like him less and less every day."

"You can't just dislike him because he tricked you, Alice." Jasper countered, trying to hold back his laughter at her pouted expression.

"He tricked you too, Casanova." Alice shot back, quickly quieting her counterpart. "This just added the icing to the cake. Edward's annoying, he seems fake. Watch you'll see that he's an asshole." She pressed. "But Bella apologized when she found we spent the night at a hotel." Jasper raised an eyebrow.

"Does she know what happened between us?" The question had a taunting tone to it and for some reason Alice felt a little tentative to tell him that she did tell her best friend. I mean it was supposed to be a secret between them—at least that's what she understood. "Alice." He drawled and she bit her bottom lip, nearly flinching.

"Maybe." She drawled back before she hurried through the rest of her explanation. "She asked and I couldn't lie so I told her. Bella will keep it a secret though."

In reality, Jasper didn't really care that Alice told Bella. He'd known her for a while and he knew that she was an overall good person and she wouldn't sell Alice out like that. As long as Bella didn't tell even her boyfriend then they were good. Although, the thought of there being even a chance of Bella telling Maria made him shudder.

"She won't tell Maria either, right?" Alice shook her head.

"She won't. But I'll make sure to let her know just in case, to ease your worries." Alice said sarcastically while rolling her eyes. _Like that's who we have to worry about finding out,_ she thought. Jasper ignored her reaction. Suddenly, they heard the front door open and they froze.

"What the fuck?" Alice hissed. "I thought Sheila was gone for the day?" He jolted up straight, the sheets falling in a pile around him. He stayed quiet, placing a hand on top of her mouth to do the same, and listened for any sound.

"I'm home!" Charlotte's voice pierced through the air and both parties felt the blood drain from their face. They slowly turned to each other, Jasper's hand falling from Alice's mouth.

"Fuck." They mouthed and Alice jumped off, reaching for her clothes and throwing them on. Jasper followed her steps, nearly stumbling off of the bed towards the door to lock it.

"My heart is literally pounding so hard right now." Alice put a hand to her chest and felt the violent thumping of her heart under her fingertips. Jasper felt the adrenaline rush through his veins and heard his sister's steps get closer to his room.

"I didn't think she'd be coming back so soon." He responded.

"Jazz?" Charlotte's light knocks scared both of them. "Is Alice here?" Alice's feet felt like jelly and she her legs started to wobble. Jasper noticed how unstable Alice looked on her own two feet and ran over, wrapping his arm around her slim waist. He supported her weight on him, holding her close to his side, while she gripped the front of his shirt in a tight fist.

"Yeah, she's here, Charle!" He called back, tightening his grip on Alice's waist.

"Hey, Charle." Alice chirped happily, completely unlike she felt. Even Jasper was impressed with her lying abilities. "I'm helping your brother with his homework." Jasper peeked down at her and smirked.

"Good job." Jasper mouthed to her and Alice stuck her tongue out and flicked him off but never moved away from him. She was thankful for the support right now. She was scared shitless.

"Oh okay, good luck with that idiot." She laughed from the other side of the door.

"Hey." Jasper whined and this time all three parties laughed, forgetting the tension.

"Thanks, I'll remember that. I'll be out soon and stop by your room." Charlotte agreed and her footsteps went away, allowing them to exhale.

"I thought we were fucked." Jasper threw his head back and Alice leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I died five times in under ten minutes." That was the scariest yet the most exhilarating thing they'd encountered together. It took a few minutes for both of them to recover.

Alice was bent over, with her ass in the air, sliding her tights over her legs. She'd quickly gotten dressed to go see Charlotte and not make it look suspicious, but for some reason it always took long to put tights on. It was like a dangerous art, trying to slide the material perfectly in place while also trying to avoid it from tearing. Jasper threw his sheets so they looked more regular and less like people were twirling around in them. He peeked over and noticed Alice's position. Something stirred in him and he found his limbs acting with a mind of their own. His hand shot out and slapped Alice right on her behind, making her jolt forward and snap around to see Jasper grinning from ear to ear.

"What the hell?" She whisper-yelled, afraid to be heard by his sister. She didn't sound mad, more like shocked at his actions, which made him less sorry—knowing she wasn't mad.

"Sorry, the position called for it." He shrugged with the same smug smile. She hit his chest and he grabbed her hand, pulling her in and delving his lips against hers. A moan escaped out from her lips and his hands began to travel down the smooth arched back towards the back of her thighs. He couldn't believe he was feeling aroused again, he could practically pounce on her and go for another round. Unfortunately for him, Alice was not digging his idea. She pulled back, turning her head away and tugging her form free from his grip.

"Stop." She said sternly and he quickly followed her orders. Since they knew each other for so long, Jasper also knew when Alice was serious. He knew better than to push her buttons and right now she was being serious. Although, he stopped his assault, he remained close to her neck where his breathing fanned against her skin. "I'm not going to do anything with your sister two doors down from us." She explained. He understood, although it wasn't to his liking, so he pulled away and she slipped on her shoes.

Just as promised, Alice stopped by Charlotte's room. It was an explosion of pale pinks and cream furniture. She definitely had a girly vibe about her that Alice liked. On the carpeted floor, Charlotte sat, with nail polish bottles scattered around her. She had her head bent over, a curtain of light hair covering her face as she flicked her finger through different indie songs to play in the background. Alice knocked on the door twice, peeking the younger girl's attention who instantly smiled brightly. Charlotte saw Alice as the sister she didn't have. She thought she was beautiful and extremely confident in how she handled herself—kind of like how Charlotte wanted to be.

"Hey, Al!" She greeted brightly, pausing the song that was starting to play in the background. "How did tutoring Jasper go?" Alice bit the inside of her cheek, apologizing silently for the lie she was about to tell.

"It went as well as you can imagine. I mean this _is_ your brother we're talking about." Both girls laughed loudly and Jasper soon circled the doorway, right beside Alice.

"Are you guys talking shit while I'm not around to defend myself?" Jasper interjected with a fake-wounded expression on his face.

"No." Both girls quickly answered before bursting into laughter. It was a scene straight from a movie and it was weird how comfortable all three parties were with one another—truly like family.

"Are you leaving, Al?" Charlotte asked, noticing that her brother's shoes were on and that she didn't walk in and plop on the ground like she usually did. Alice nodded in response and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Yeah, dinner is here tonight, so I have to go home and walk Luke and change before coming back." She retorted. "I better get going now actually."

"Are you going with her?" Jasper nodded at his sister's statement. He might be a little of an asshole here and there but he did have manners.

"Yeah. I'll be back after I walk her home." Alice waved at Charlotte and followed Jasper back to the crisp outside.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry about the false notice guys, for some reason the formatting was messing up and I had to take down the chapter. Hopefully it worked this time around.

...

Chapter 4

Alice sat at the lunchroom table, swiping through her social media for any sort of excitement. She couldn't complain though, because the last two days were filled with new adventurous things. She had gone back to Jasper's and they'd have sex before she'd leave back home. Then they'd act completely normal when they had to be in front of their parents. It was their dirty little secret and Alice was sure the secrecy made it the more fun and the more pleasurable for them.

Bella noticed how her friend's finger hovered over whatever she was looking at on her phone. She noticed Alice's attitude had shifted slightly. It went from annoyed to a little looser and she didn't let too many things get to her. _What's up with her?_ She thought and then she caught sight of Jasper who was with a guy beside her she recognized as Riley. They shook hands and parted ways, his figure coming towards the table they were sitting at.

"Ladies." He said in the low purred voice he reserved strictly for teasing them. Alice peeked over her shoulder and lifted her brow.

"I thought you were cutting today?" She questioned as he slid into the seat in front of her. He yawned and shook his head.

"I have an apparent quiz so no can do." He shrugged before perking up. "Which by the way, do you want to stop by my place after?" His voice held a hint of suggestion and his lips struggled to not smirk to reveal his true intentions. "My mom wants me to show you something."

"Don't you guys have dinner almost all the time together?" Bella probed into the conversation, almost clueless to what was going on around her. "Why don't you show her then?" Jasper wanted to almost huff at her naïve self.

"Today there's no dinner at our places." That actually wasn't a lie. Alice folded her hands and placed her phone on top of the table.

"We only do it four times a week max. Unless it's like a real special event." She shrugged at her friend before turning back to the impeccable guy in front of her. "Today?" She knew he didn't want to show her no stupid shit, it was a silent invite to go over and have sex. Just the mere thought of it had Alice feeling fuzzy and hot. She instinctively crossed her legs and agreed, while her friend just watched the interaction between the two.

There was something almost _tangible_ in the air between those two. It felt different—like something shifted, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She wasn't sure if it was because she knew what she knew or because it was really something different in the air. She didn't have time to sit and ponder on it, because Maria's sudden presence alerted everyone. Her dark hair was pulled into a ponytail and she wore a simple sweater over a white v-neck t-shirt. She had lunch in her hands and saw that a new person was at the table.

"Hi Jasper." She threw him a sweet smile that nearly knocked him off his chair. Alice licked her lips and looked back down at her phone to avoid laughing at her friend's stupidity. She loved observing how much of an idiot Jasper became in front of the girl he liked.

"Hey." He choked back, shocking even Maria with his dry response. She, however, paid him no mind and started nibbling on her wrap. Jasper knew he fucked up and ground his jaw. It was just plain chatter here and there until the bell rang. They dropped Maria off first and then it was just Alice and Bella walking each other. Bella took the opportunity to ask the question she was itching to ask.

"What's going on between you and Jazz?" She asked casually, as if she was asking how the weather outside was. Alice was surprised at the question and how nonchalantly it came out of her friend. _Had they been noticeable?_

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know something seems different." Bella explained. "You couldn't even talk to him the day after you guys did what you did and now you're hanging out by yourselves again?"

"You get over things, right?"

"Yeah but not like that." She insisted. She noticed how subtly Alice switched her weight from one foot to the other and realized she was on to something. "Al, did you guys do something?" Her voice was nervous to ask and Alice resorted to biting the inside of her cheek. "Alice!"

"What?" She whined. "I'm not doing anything wrong. Just some fun, I swear."

"But you guys…"

"I know, I know." Alice sighed. "Just please don't say anything. Let alone to Maria, or your boyfriend." Alice warned.

"Don't tell me Maria because of Jasper…" The silence stretched and she knew she hit the bullseye. "I don't know how I feel Jasper going after her if he's with you." Bella made a face of disapproval so Alice jumped in to smooth her friend over.

"It's fine. Once he gets with her we'll stop. It's just for now. Besides he's not with me. I don't like Jasper like that and we've agreed to help each other out in whatever way." Bella felt unsure.

"Things like this don't end good."

"This isn't a movie where things always end bad. Don't worry. Now come on." She gripped her best friend's hand and ran through the halls.

...

Jasper suddenly laid his head against the pillow and stared up at the ceiling.

"I don't know what I should do to get Maria to notice me." Jasper exclaimed, changing the topic, with a heavy sigh. His upper body was bare and his lower body was covered by some of the sheets. Alice moved the covers to have them wrapped tightly around her as she propped her head up and raised an eyebrow at him. They had had sex probably fifteen minutes previous to this conversation, but she understood that she was the only one he could speak to like this. They had agreed to help each other sexually as well as with the people they desired.

"You're thinking way too hard about it, Jazz." She breathed. "You go to the same school as her, you see her at lunch often and for Pete's sake, you are friends with her and with people directly linked to her." He made a face in response.

"Yeah but I never know what to say." Alice remembered how he nearly choked on his words to get a simple _'hey'_ out of him. And only he managed to make it sound so weird and awkward.

"That's a change. You never shut up with me." Alice mumbled under her breath.

"That's because I really like Maria." Jasper shot back with no real malice. The words should have held a lot more sting than they actually did but instead they lightly brushed across her. "Besides, I've known you all my life." She quickly sat up, holding the blankets firmly under her arms and pursed her lips.

"Fine. I'll create an opportunity for you to walk her to class tomorrow, but you have to take the damn hint." Jasper sprang up at the idea and beamed from ear to ear.

"I will, thank you!" He leaned over and pressed his lips against her cheek, making her laugh. He looked like a giddy child.

"All you have to do after is make it a habit and have a conversation with her. That's how it'll work." Alice brushed her fingers along her hair. Jasper noticed her perk up and he knew she had something to say. "Now what about Peter? I want help too Jasper and he's your friend!" Jasper folded his hands over his lap.

"He's not my direct friend, Al."

"Maria isn't really mine either—" She mumbled with a huff.

"You didn't let me finish." He gave her a look and she rolled her eyes. "But I'll get you a chance to really talk to him. You know Riley, right?" Alice nodded her head. Of course, she knew who he was. Riley was one of Jasper's closest guy friends since high school started. In fact, they had class freshman year together and it has been like that ever since. Riley was usually always with Jasper and vice versa—especially at school. Riley was a good-looking guy too. He had brown hair that had a reddish hue to it and lively green eyes that stood out strikingly against his pale skin. He was about two inches shorter than Jasper, but still taller than the average guy. He had a broad build, much broader than Jasper's and he had a goofy grin with a miniscule gap between his front two teeth. Alice always saw him as the cute type rather than the hot type. "Well Riley is really good friends with Peter. I'll ask him to hang out and throw in a good word for you."

"A good word?" That sounded unconvincing and like minimal work on Jasper's end.

"Trust me, you won't need much more help." He retorted with a smirk. "Getting guys is so much easier than getting a girl. You guys have it easy and Peter is no different from any other guy out there. A pretty face and the right amount of tricks and you'll have him—" Jasper grabbed one of Alice's hands and turned it over so the palm was face up. "in the palm of your little hand." He traced a line across her palm with a cynical grin and she tried her best to hold back her excitement. His words gave her hope and excitement. After all, they were coming from a guy so they had to be right in some way. "I mean you did most of the work at Edward's party." He suggested and Alice licked her lips.

"Unlike you I don't choke up." The jab pinched Jasper's nerves and he closed her hands, tackling her onto the mattress so that she was pinned beneath him. She stared up at him, slightly startled and then she suddenly felt his fingers wiggle against her side causing her to throw her head back and laugh loudly. Jasper was surprised at her reaction—he had expected her to squirm and maybe laugh, but she was beneath him squirming around. She was laughing so hard her body was vibrating beneath his and tears were starting to roll from the corner of her eyes. "Stop!" She squealed but the joy that was radiating off of her was contagious and Jasper found himself unable to stop tickling her. He didn't even notice how he himself was laughing along with her while she unsuccessfully tried to smack his hands away.

...

Eventually Alice went home and waited for the Whitlock's to come to her place for dinner. Her mom arrived half an hour after she did and stopped by to chat with her daughter about school, before heading off to find the cook, Esme for dinner preparations. Alice showered, removing any trace of Jasper from her until she felt clean and fresh again. She reapplied makeup and shimmied herself into a nice pair of black cropped slacks.

Caius came home after work, noticing that his leading girls were ready for dinner. Alice was sitting on the sofa with Luke at her side, calmly taking a nap. It still left him in awe how such a huge animal acted like such a teddy bear with his daughter. He thought she would be dominated by the German Shepard, but instead he felt as though they were almost on an even playing field. He knew that Luke was therapeutic for her and that she adored him the same way he knew that Luke loved her. It was a beautiful sort of friendship. Luke sensed Caius' presence and peeked one eye open to see him before releasing a breath and continuing his nap.

"He's always happy to see me." Caius joked with a small laugh and Alice shrugged.

"He's a diva sometimes."

Time rolled around for dinner and the usual awaited guests rolled in. Jasper and Charlotte stayed beside Alice to small chat before they were called to the table. Charlotte sat across from the two older teens but they didn't let her feel left out.

"How have you been, Alice?" Aro asked his usual questions. He couldn't lie that he had an affinity for the girl. He had watched her grow up into the intelligent and beautiful young woman she was today so he felt a sense of pride in that. It was as if she was his daughter as well.

"I've been good, uncle." She replied politely. "Recently tests have laid off a bit so I can finally have some time for myself." She picked up the napkin and dabbed it on her lips, before properly placing it back on her lap. Aro reached for his white Pinot Grigio that paired with the excellent chicken Esme prepared that night. He took a sip and nodded in appreciation.

"That's excellent. It's always important to study as hard as you do but also have time to pamper yourself." Harper laughed.

"Oh, don't worry, this child pampers herself alright." Alice gave her mom the side eye and Jasper hid his smile behind his water glass. He knew how much Alice hated being talked about like a brat and the look she was giving her mom right now was priceless.

"But it's well deserved." Caius interrupted.

"Exactly, everything in life is rewarded if done correctly." Aro continued.

"How about you, Jasper?" Harper threw back the same question. "How have you been doing in school?" Jasper chewed his chicken quickly so he could swallow it.

"I've been good, aunt Harper. I'm in the middle of tests now actually, I end after next week."

"Study hard but not too hard." She laughed lightly. "Overcramming never works out in the end."

"He needs to study as much as he can." Aro interjected in a serious tone, making Jasper give him a cold stare this time.

 _Who needs enemies when you have allies like that,_ he thought.

"Alice is actually helping Jazz out with his work, daddy." Charlotte innocently said in hopes of helping her brother. However, her attempt had the opposite effect—both Jasper and Alice's eyes widened and their breathing stopped.

 _You've got to be fucking me…_ Jasper thought while gathering his thoughts. Aro's eyebrows raised in surprise at what his younger child told him. He looked over and saw the nervous smile Alice gave him.

"Is that so?" He said and she nodded. She noticed this time Jasper seemed frozen, so underneath the table she patted his hand to shake him out of it.

"Yes, he asked me for some tutoring. I usually help him out on homework more than studying though." Her lie was smooth and even impressed her. Everyone seemed to have bought it though, because they all nodded in response.

"Please come by more often and help him with studying too." Aro insisted and Alice laughed nervously.

"Will do." The air lightened up after Jasper's mom, Amber, steered the conversation into the topic of someone she bumped in to. Charlotte had excused herself to the bathroom, so the two nervous kids were left silent for a moment while the adults laughed.

"I thought it was over." Alice mumbled to herself. "I need something to make me relax." She sighed and pulled her hair behind her right ear, exposing her side profile to Jasper. He suddenly reached his hand out and placed it casually on her thigh. She immediately stiffened, taking a glimpse at how casually his hand laid there. She didn't say a single word; she was scared someone would hear.

 _Why is he doing this here?_ She prayed no one saw anything. _Just keep laughing and talking._ His hand started moving up and down her leg and she nearly jumped. She peeked to make sure the adults were still busy so she hid behind the curtain of her hair.

Jasper wasn't sure what he was doing, it was a mixture of his annoyance, his want and her wants. The soft material of her pants blocked him from touching her skin but he still knew it had some effect by the way her body would freeze if he kept moving. He followed the rhythmic pattern moving his hands up and down, until he decided to dip closer to her inner thighs. Her breathing hitched and she closed her legs up, trapping his hand. His head snapped up and that's when he saw her face. Her eyes were hazed with desire while her lips were parted slightly and her breaths were short and soft. Her face was completely smooth and covered with a slight flush. Her whole face screamed arousal and it made him feel it down where he needed to. He noticed her hair blocked the parents from seeing her, so it looked like they were just having a casual conversation with her head turned towards him. He was grateful that no one could see her face but he was also fucked because the face screamed _'fuck me'_ but he couldn't do just that any time soon.

"Sorry," Charlotte's voice reminded them of reality. Jasper quickly pulled his hand back, placing it on his own lap, however, avoiding it with coming into contact with his own issue downstairs. Alice almost instantly missed the warmth and grip he had on her. "My friend called." She took a seat in front of them again. "Hey, Al, can I play with your polaroid after dinner?" Alice took several deep breaths before correcting her demeanor. She looked up and smiled.

"Yeah. It's in my room, so we'll go there after." The dinner carried on until the plates were picked up. Charlotte skipped to Alice's room to find the polaroid she wanted. Alice had an old-fashioned polaroid and a more modern version that made it easy for travel. Jasper had gotten her the more modern version about two years ago after she continuously complained she couldn't take the older version anywhere because of how big it was. It was a Christmas gift and she loved it. They both loved photos—Alice more liked to be the person taken pictures of while Jasper loved taking the pictures. He was an amazing photographer—he had a great eye for pictures and art, but his parents—especially his father didn't see that as a career.

Alice walked towards her room, with Jasper behind her when she was pulled towards the bathroom, the door shut after. Her eyes opened but there was no time to assess anything because Jasper was kissing her wildly against the door. Alice didn't even argue, she tilted her head back and opened her mouth so their tongues could melt against one another. Their desire was leaking through every pore. Jasper's hands traveled behind Alice's thighs and in a swift movement he wrapped her legs around his torso. Jasper wasn't the strongest man out there but Alice was relatively light and right now he felt like Superman himself. He walked towards the sink and set her down against the countertop. No words were said, only the exchange of lips and the grinding of her core against his for the sense of relief.

They knew they couldn't do more or finish so regretfully Alice pulled back and snuck out of the bathroom to go find Charlotte. Even walking right now was difficult with how turned on she was. She fell to her knees on the floor beside Charlotte and winced slightly.

"Are you okay?" She asked and Alice nodded.

"Yeah, I just hit my knees." She rubbed her faked-injured knees and accommodated herself. Charlotte craned her neck, not seeing Jasper walk in at all.

"Where's my brother?" She wondered with a furrowed brow.

"He said he had to go to the bathroom." Lying was getting better for Alice. It was becoming more second-nature, which she wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing. "Apparently the chicken didn't sit well with him." _Lie. He loved it, as a matter of fact._

Charlotte scrunched her nose up. "I hope he doesn't think of doing that in your bathroom. What a gross, ass." The girls laughed, one more forcefully than the other. Alice was able to engage herself into conversation and laughter with Charlotte, passing through the stage of painful arousal. Jasper eventually joined them, throwing himself against Alice's bed. Charlotte shot some joking jabs at it but he just brushed them off.

After a while, Aro and Amber called their kids to get going. They stayed ample enough time to have dinner and then enjoy some small talk afterwards. _'It was good for the digestion,'_ Amber always said like a life slogan. Charlotte's phone rang so she excused herself out of the room to take the call. Jasper took the moment to talk to Alice.

"By the way, I'm going to get some of my tattoo filled in tomorrow, do you want to come with?" It made only sense. He didn't want to admit it but he didn't like going alone to do things like this and Alice did go with him the first time to get it right. Inviting her again seemed only right—besides Riley and Rose couldn't make it anyways.

"You're adding more to it?" She questioned and he nodded.

"Just some shading." He explained. "Do you want to come or no?" Alice had nothing better to do and she just saw it as another opportunity to make fun of him while he grimaced and made weird faces.

"Yeah." She answered. "After school?"

"Yeah."

"Jasper!" Aro's sharp voice reached Alice's bedroom and both parties turned their heads towards the door.

"Well the commander has summoned me." He grumbled and Alice laughed.

"Let's go before, uncle comes searching for you here." Luke peeked his huge head around the door and walked over to Jasper.

"What's up, troublemaker." He teased, ruffling the dog's head. His tail immediately sprang up and wagged wildly from side to side. Alice and Jasper then sidestepped the dog and walked out.

"Come on, Luke. Come say bye." Alice called, patting her thigh for him to follow her. Without second thought, Luke followed.

"He's a good listener." Jasper murmured and Alice answered his comment with a blinding smile. She took pride in a compliment like that.

She said goodbye to the Whitlock's until her mom shut the door behind them. She yawned and rubbed a hand against her neck.

"Now I'm exhausted." She stretched comfortably while her husband reached out and encircled his arm around her waist. "Charlotte and Jasper are good kids." She remarked underhandedly and Caius nodded, agreeing with her.

"Although, it does seem like Jasper and Aro's relationship isn't getting any better."

"Well Aro does probe him a lot." Harper noted. "Amber says it can sometimes annoy her because it sours the mood." She suddenly turned towards her daughter who just listened on mindlessly. "I didn't know you were helping Jasper out." Alice's muscles stiffened but she kept a straight face.

"Sorry, I didn't think much of it. He asked for some help so I've been trying to help him here and there." Harper was proud of her daughter. She liked that she lent her intelligence when asked for help.

"Good." She nodded. "I didn't expect much else from you. Jasper is like a brother to you so it's only natural you help him if he asks." The word _brother_ and _Jasper_ didn't belong in the same sentence. You don't think about having sex with your brother—it was wrong. Alice said nothing, she simply smiled in response and excused herself.

...

The next day, class went by fast and now everyone was in the middle of lunch. Bella, Alice, Maria, Jasper and even Riley were at the table. He would show up once in a while when he didn't have homework to make up or practice for basketball. Small chatter filled the table until Bella frowned, while looking down at her phone.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked after bumping shoulders with her. Bella looked up, semi-startled and shrugged.

"I'm fighting with Edward." Her voice was low enough to almost not be heard. Everyone's attention was suddenly piqued—even the guys. They were a nosey bunch.

"About what?" She pressed on.

"I told him I couldn't hang out with him this week because my mom's been complaining that I don't spend time with the family." Bella was over at Edward's place almost daily and if she wasn't there then she was locked in her room, singing along to whatever song came on the radio. It was the typical teenager stage, but it didn't mean it didn't irritate her parents.

Alice raised an eyebrow, unlike Maria who didn't really show any outward emotion. She wasn't sure it was her place to show how stupid that was. The last thing she wanted was to make Bella upset with a face or comment.

"Is he serious?" Alice said in disbelief. "He does realize the world doesn't revolve around him, right?" Bella made no comment or movement. "Ugh, just dump him already." Her face showed her full disgust now with the way her nose scrunched up distastefully.

"Alice." Jasper warned while trying to hide his laughter. He couldn't lie that his friend's reactions were funny but laughing, when Bella looked so upset, seemed inappropriate. Alice shrugged and sighed.

"It's nothing to you personally but I feel like he's always picking on the stupidest shit to argue over." Maria observed the way Alice freely expressed her displeasure to Bella, without any restraints. She was actually in awe that things didn't go sour between them and she silently wished for the ability to do the same. However, she wasn't sure if Bella would stay calm and collected like how she did with Alice. For one, the two girls were friends for more years than her and Bella were. Secondly, from the two, Maria noticed that Alice had a stronger and almost more dominating presence than Bella did.

"Is that the only reason why?" Maria finally voiced up, reminding Jasper that she was here. He glanced at her pretty face and felt that anxious feeling in his stomach.

"Well…He's been getting upset because he's been wanting to try something new for sex." She squirmed awkwardly as she said it. Bella noticed the two boys in front of her and just wanted to bury her head somewhere. _Why would I say that?_

"Exhibit A." Alice replied sarcastically. "What does he want?"

"Don't make me say it." She moaned in complaint and now even Jasper was curious. _What did Edward want this girl to do?_ "He mentioned a butt plug." Riley spit out his water and Jasper nearly choked on his saliva.

"What?" They all said in unison, causing fire to crawl up her face until she looked like a tomato.

"Yeah." She continued, unsure.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Alice shook her head. "Let me guess—you don't want to." The girl shook her head viciously.

"Sorry, it's not that weird." Riley plugged in, wiping his lips. "It just caught me by surprise is all. He doesn't understand you don't want to do that?"

"I mean he does." Bella replied. "It's just he doesn't like it. I think he wishes I was more sexually open to different things." She traced her finger along the top of her iced tea can, feeling the cool metal beneath her finger.

"Well damn." Jasper whistled. "I didn't think I'd hear that one."

"I'm all for exploring sexual outlets and all that but within limit. He can't expect you to be okay with everything." Alice shrugged.

"So, you're okay with a butt plug?" Riley joked and Alice smirked.

"I'm just okay with trying different things sexually. I never said yes or no." She wagged her finger and somehow Jasper felt a rush of excitement. Something about her openness of things and willingness to try left him imagining different options. Options that would make him and her feel so much better. He even forgot Maria who was sitting on the other side of Bella was there. Maria looked on as how open they all were with their sexuality, something she couldn't even bring herself to do. Maria was more conservative on that aspect. She had had sex before but she didn't really talk about it.

"Duly noted." Both guys replied to Alice and they all went into a fit of laughter.

"Listen, tell him to put it up his butt first and then you'll do it. Watch him turn away from that idea reaaal quick." She giggled and Bella laughed too. She felt that sometimes dating a college kid was hard for her, especially for things like this.

The bell rang, alerting all of them that lunch was over and class was going to begin. Alice noticed that Jasper never did much with Maria today so she rolled her eyes.

"Hey Maria, you don't mind if I borrow Bella for today, right?" Alice asked, surprising the girl. She shook her head and Alice smiled. "Thanks, I have to talk to her about something, but—" She looked at her friend. "Jasper, can you take Maria to class? Riley too! I just don't want her to walk by herself because that's fucked up."

 _That's your chance, stupid._ Alice's eyes screamed and Jasper took the hint, nearly stumbling onto his feet.

"Sure thing."

"Oh no, you really don't have to." Maria shook her head viciously and sat back further into her seat. "It's no big deal."

"Nonsense." Riley stepped up, earning a small cheer from Alice who looked at her dumbfounded friend, stupidly. "We have nothing better to do." Her referred to himself and Jasper who quickly agreed.

"He's right. Come on, let's take you to class." Maria nibbled on the bottom of her lip, making Jasper think how adorable she looked.

"Okay." She picked up her book and stood up, having the guys follow her steps.

"Alright, then we'll see you guys later." Alice waved before looking at Jasper. "I'll see you afterwards." The subtly to the message was there, although, this time it wasn't for sex. It was just to meet up to head towards the tattoo parlor.

"Sounds good." Riley didn't miss the small electricity that flew between the two of them, but he reserved his comments until he and Jasper were alone.

The girls walked away and all that was left was Maria with the two guys. She took the lead and led them up a floor towards her class, all while there was small talk here and there—mainly from Riley's end because Jasper was nervous and shell-shocked.

"I felt bad for Bella." Riley commented lowly, while greeting a passing basketball team member with a small nod. Maria sighed, agreeing with him wholeheartedly.

"She's been saying that their arguments have been getting worst since she turned down the idea of that _thing._ " Creases appeared in the middle of her forehead and she grimaced. Just the idea of that made her feel uneasy.

"Guess you're not a fan of the butt plug." Riley laughed along with Jasper while Maria stayed silent.

"No." She answered firmly. "It sounds just…unpleasant." _Guess she's not so liberal,_ Riley thought. When he looked over his friend seemed to have not cared about what she said. He knew that Jasper liked Maria like a puppy, but the boy's eyes followed her every step.

"I can't blame her." Jasper quickly chipped in. "It's not what you hear every day. It's weird." He wanted to bang his own head against a wall. He was so quick to side with her when moments earlier he was thinking of asking Alice to try something similar. Riley immediately thought the same thing, giving him a small scoff. However, Maria's eyes twinkled like stars at the thought of him siding with her. Usually guys were the other way or made fun of her way of thinking, but here was a good-looking boy actually agreeing with her point of view.

"That's what I mean!" She chirped happily, falling into step beside him so they walked side-by-side. Jasper felt like a whole new person at the opportunity and the reality of Maria talking to him in full sentences. "I mean I don't know where guys get the idea that that might feel pleasant."

 _She sounds like a vanilla_ , Riley thought, meaning that she was a plain old-fashioned girl when it came to sex. He had a hunch it was straight missionary with the occasional cow-girl when she was feeling real adventurous, but something told him the line ended there.

"But I do hope, Bella fixes things with her boyfriend." Maria sighed and Jasper noticed the creases at the corner of her eyes. She really cared for Bella and was worried about her. "She loves him. I don't want to see her heart broken."

"Nah, I don't think anything will happen to them. Besides, Bella's a good girl I'm sure Edward will get out of his funk and they'll be fine."

"I wonder what Alice had to talk to Bella about." She wondered.

"What do those two not talk about." Jasper laughed casually but something in Maria turned. She supposed that Alice and Jasper were good friends, because if not then how could he talk about her so casually? Or talk _to_ her so casually? He usually said three words to her, but with Alice he never seemed to shut up. Maria wasn't sure what to make of that.

They eventually reached her room and she felt slightly bummed but also relieved. She turned to them and gave them her best smile and gratitude.

"Thanks, guys."

"No problem." Riley replied.

"Don't mention it." Jasper said, stuffing one hand in his jean pocket. "See you at lunch." His smile was awfully charming and handsome, Maria was sure it made girls swoon. She tucked a hair behind her ear and waved back. "Shit that was amazing." He breathed into the empty halls when they walked away. Riley patted his friend on the shoulder with a grin.

"You got through the first step, brother." He laughed.

"It's all thanks to that little devil, Alice." He was beaming from ear to ear. He would have to buy that girl a treat—like sushi or pistachio ice cream.

"Which speaking of which—" Riley started, finally getting the opportunity to ask what was itching him. "What's going on between you and Alice?" Jasper's smile dropped and he frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" He snorted. "I could practically see the dirty images you had when she talked about her sexual explorations." Jasper felt caught red-handed. He groaned and smacked his open palm against his forehead. "Bingo. Did you have sex with her?"

"Yes." He muffled under his breath before snapping his head in his friend's direction. "But you're not allowed to say _anything_ , do you get me?" His eyes were semi-threatening but his tone was serious so he put up his hands.

"I won't. But when the hell did this happen?" He felt like a gossip girl wanting to know the juicy details.

"The night you bailed from going to Edward's party." Riley's eyes almost fell out of his skull.

" _That_ night?" He nearly yelled. "I miss _one_ damn party and the whole plot changes."

"Shut up you melodramatic, douche." Jasper laughed as they headed up another flight of stairs to their classroom.

"You lucky, bitch." Riley had a little crush on Alice when they first met. It was freshman year and he had seen her stand out amongst the people. She was well-dressed and beautiful, compared to the others around her. She had a very pretty smile, which was the second thing he noticed about her. Then he saw how she was with his friend, Jasper, and he nearly died. He thought they were a couple at first but then Jasper explained the situation and he felt better, but Alice never paid him any attention in that way. She was nice and spoke to him whenever they all hung out but never beyond that. Then she started going out with her Korean boyfriend Jin and she was completely off the market, physically and emotionally. She was head over heels in love with him and they lasted a while so his crush dissolved. "I just have to ask, is it good?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Jasper laughed.

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Come on, man, you tell me any other time." He retorted jokingly.

"Yeah, but Alice would punch me in the face no remorse." Jasper answered. He followed the motto _'don't kiss and tell'_ but there were certain exceptions to that. However, Alice was not the exception to that rule, he didn't care that Riley knew because he trusted him but he wouldn't reveal anything else.

...

After the last period, Alice met up with Jasper and they took a cab to the tattoo shop. It was about a fifteen to twenty-minute walk, which wasn't long, but in the dead of winter it was torturous. They got to the appointment five minutes early, which was excellent because the tattoo artist was able to talk to them and coordinate a better image for Jasper's tattoo.

"So, we're going to add more shading to make it look more realistic, that cool?" Eric was a relatively young tattoo artist. He was half Italian and half Chinese, causing quite the stir at the shop when he first arrived. He was a good-looking guy with crazy talent for realism and lettering, attracting customers to him. He did the first half of Jasper's tattoo and it was a great piece, so it felt only natural that he would return to finish it with the same person.

"Sounds excellent. You know this best." Eric cracked a grin and motioned both young kids to follow him to the back. All that was heard was the humming that came from the tattoo machines and the occasional groans from people that were being tattooed.

Alice sat down beside Jasper while he sat with his back towards Eric. Even though he had done this once, he still felt that fluttering sensation of anxiety and anticipation in his gut. The outlining wasn't too bad in the pain meter, but he heard that shading was a bit more painful.

"He hasn't even put on his gloves yet and you're already shaking." Alice observed with a raised brow and her arms across her chest. He gave her a small glare but she shrugged unfazed. Eric laughed at them, watching as they exchanged little jabs here and there with each other. To him, they looked like either really good friends with amazing chemistry or lovers. Although, the last time he stated that Jasper bent over laughing stating that they were friends that grew up together like basically family.

It was pretty obvious to people that their naturalness around each other oozed another type of relationship. Being at a tattoo shop was almost comical. The rigid, well-dressed, elegant girl sitting in the middle of the shop, next to a well-groomed, rebellious boy.

"Are you going to stop here?" Eric wondered, making conversation to ease the process more for the kid.

"Actually, I want a full sleeve." Jasper responded, peeking back at his artist. Eric smirked and wiped the area before he put the needles against his skin.

"Aye, welcome to the club." He laughed. "I have both my arms and legs so totally understandable."

"What are you going to get?" Alice asked, genuinely interested.

"I'm not sure yet, I have a whole bunch of ideas."

"Don't worry, they start coming out of nowhere once you start." Eric piped in, concentrated on his work. "And we'll get whatever you want to flow naturally."

"That'll be cool once its done." Alice noted and Jasper grimaced at the slight stinging in his arm.

"Why don't you get one too, Al." He gritted out through his teeth and she tilted her head, pursing her lips.

"You look like you're in pain, I don't know…" She trailed off. Eric poked up from his work to look at the cute little girl in front of him. She did seem a little discouraged from the idea but from what he saw—she wasn't totally turned away. There was a curiosity and interest that glinted in her eye and he didn't miss the way she occasionally peeked over to see the progress.

"It's not that bad." Eric said, dipping his needle in the ink. "Depending on the area, the pain level varies, but you look like a tough cookie that could handle it." Her chest puffed out slightly at the subtle compliment.

"Maybe one day, once I know what to get."

'I Feel it Coming' by The Weeknd played through the speakers in the shop, surprising both Eric and Jasper. It wasn't a song that was usually heard in that place because of its pop beat, but Alice didn't seem to mind. She was actually singing along and dancing in her seat, while Jasper laughed at her.

After everything was done and paid for, the two of them walked out and started heading home. His arm felt a little sore but otherwise he felt a nice high from his finished product. It looked phenomenal—even better than what he wanted.

"Thanks for coming, Al." Jasper said and she nodded.

"Don't even mention it." She waved her hand nonchalantly.

"Which by the way, do you want to eat sushi or pistachio ice cream?" He suddenly questioned and she was completely taken aback.

"Um, why?"

"Because you helped me finally talk to Maria." Just the thought of her, got him feeling all that happiness he had earlier.

"Oh right, how did that go?"

"It went good." He had to remember to downplay it just slightly so that he didn't look like a sixteen-year-old love-struck girl. "I got out more than just a 'hey.'"

"Well that's a start." Alice giggled. "What'd you guys talk about?" He didn't want to mention how he agreed with Maria's idea of the butt plug conversation, so he figured he'd tailor it.

"About Bella and what happened." Alice immediately rolled her eyes at the mention of it. "She cares about her friend." He added with a shrug.

"I would _hope_ so." She muttered. "You just have to keep it up."

"So, do you want sushi or ice cream?"

"Both." She popped her lips with a pearly white smile. "But let's do it next week. My parents are going away so we can have some at my place." Jasper's mind twisted faster than possibly imaginable but Alice halted his steps. "And no. I mean literally eating and hanging out."

"I have no issue with eating." Jasper's smarmy remark made Alice's face flush in a bright red tone.

"Stupid, shut up!" He laughed at her reaction, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets to hide them from the cold.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next day went on as usual and the people met up together again at lunch time. Once the bell rang, Alice gave Jasper the sign to invite Maria for the walk to her class again, which she accepted with a soft smile. She would be lying if she said she didn't like that he walked her to class. They had their small talk, with small laughter here and there. To Maria, it was starting to feel natural to walk with Jasper by her side. When they got to her class, she turned around and gave him a smile before walking in.

Jasper's heart beat in his chest with excitement and nerves. He finally walked her by himself and was able to maintain a conversation.

"Yo, Jazz!" Riley's voice cut into his train of thought. He was grinning and waved at him as he made his way to him. The two of them did their handshake and started heading towards their class. "You dropped Maria off?" He wondered with a nudge of his head in the direction of her classroom.

"Yeah."

"Congrats my man." Riley said.

"Riley, can you help?"

"What's up?"

"Alice likes Peter so I need to get them together in a room so they can talk." Jasper was facing forward so he didn't see the way Riley scowled at him. He couldn't understand how his friend talked so calmly about getting the girl he was currently having sex with, with another guy. It didn't even sound normal to his ears.

"Okay?"

"Alice has helped me out so I have to pay her back and I know you're close with Peter."

"Yeah but what do you want me to do?"

"Get him to hang out, we'll invite Bella and Alice so it doesn't look weird. Can you help?"

"Sure." He shrugged. He didn't want to get involved with their fucked-up ideology. "I'll tell him. What day?"

"Let's do next Tuesday." Riley pulled out his cell phone and sent his friend a text for plans next Tuesday. He got an immediate response that agreed with the plans, so Riley showed Jasper, making him grin.

"Fucking awesome. Thanks man." He would surprise Alice or maybe he would tell her later tonight when they had dinner at his place.

...

On the bed, Alice was entwined with the sheets wrapped around her legs and her waist. She was lying down on her stomach while she was propped up by her elbows. Her hair was mussed and looked voluminous with more body to it. Jasper was sitting up against the head board with his usually coiffed hair fluffed in all directions.

"I have some good news for you." He murmured, followed by a yawn. Alice's interest was piqued so she turned her head towards him.

"What is it?"

"We're hanging out with Peter on Tuesday." Alice's eyes snapped open and she jumped up, completely forgetting that she was naked. The sheets fell around her and Jasper's eyes involuntarily looked over her bare figure. Her skin was white and smooth. She had relatively small breasts compared to most of her friends, which she was somewhat self-conscious of. However, she had a well-defined waist and fuller set of hips for her petite frame. He didn't mind that she had a smaller chest, it didn't take away from anything else.

"Are you fucking serious?" She couldn't help the nerves and excitement that radiated off of her.

"Why would I lie." He joked and she squealed, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Thank you, Jazz!" His fingers touched the back of her smooth skin. "Now I have to figure out what to wear." She murmured when she pulled away. "Something revealing, but not too revealing."

"Revealing is always best." Jasper laughed but then cleared his throat when she didn't answer him. She was too engrossed in thinking about Peter—it irked him a bit. "I'll help you find something."

"Really?" He nodded. "You're awesome, I owe you big time." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to him, so their faces were only inches apart.

"I know how you can pay me back." He suggested in a low tone that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"Again?" He nodded. She peeked down and noticed how the sheets around his waist had a risen tent.

"So?" He pressed, leaving the choice up to her. Maybe if they had sex again he would get rid of his sudden irritation. Alice bit her bottom lip before supporting her weight on her arms and crawling closer to him. She pressed their lips together and he finished pulling her closer to him.

...

It was Tuesday and Alice was shaking in her seat from the nerves. After school she would meet up with Bella and the guys to see Peter. She could feel her heart pounding violently in her chest. Jasper actually did help her find an outfit the night before when his family stopped by for their usual dinner. She ended up in her fitted skinny jeans and a silk v-neck blouse with lace hem trimming. Her hair was done in loose waves and her face was impeccably made up in her usual fashion.

Jasper was going to meet up with Alice right now, with Riley beside him. Riley was keeping tabs on Peter to make sure he would really show up, because he didn't want to be in the middle of that argument if he didn't. Jasper saw Alice hanging out by the front door with one foot crossed over the other, while she mindlessly scrolled through her phone. He squinted to see if he could see Bella, but noticed she wasn't there. That went against the plan, because it would make it too obvious if only Alice showed up to where three guys were hanging out.

"Al." He called and she picked up her head to see Jasper and Riley.

"Hey Jazz, hey Riley." She grinned, still gripping onto her phone. "What's up?"

"Where's Bella?" Jasper asked, jumping directly to the question.

"Oh, she's just talking to one of the teachers." Alice responded smoothly, waving her hand dismissively. "She'll meet up with us in a few." He felt better knowing that another female would be there. He was here to help Alice, not make her look like a desperate girl.

"Is Peter here?" Jasper turned to his friend and Riley nodded.

"Yeah, he just walked up to the gate. He said he'll meet us there." No one outside of the school was allowed to enter school grounds and the school security made sure to check IDs. The three of them walked out, after Alice shot her a quick message, and saw the tall figure with black hair huddled away from the cold. Her heart rate got so bad, she pressed her hand against the outside of her chest to try and stop it. Jasper took note of her reaction and nudged her shoulder giving her a concerned look. She bit her lip but nodded once, taking a deep breath to try and collect herself.

"Yo, Pete!" Riley called out boisterously, making Peter's head snap up and a grin to spread on his face.

"What's going on, brother." They clapped hands and gave each other a quick pat on the back. He saw Jasper and proceeded to greet him as well. "What's up, Jasper." Jasper nodded in response, shaking hands as well.

"What's up, man." Peter took note of the petite girl beside Jasper. Her dark hair stuck out against her pallid skin and crystal-like eyes.

"Hey, Alice." He said in a soft tone and Alice felt a nice vibration through her body.

"Hi Peter." She chirped back, making his smile get bigger.

"Can we get somewhere warm, it's fucking freezing." Riley whined, bouncing up and down in spot for some sort of heat friction. Peter gave him a look and chuckled.

"You're telling me that." Alice pulled out her phone and saw Bella texted her that she was coming out.

"Bella's coming now so then we can leave." She commented and everyone nodded.

"Oh wow, Bella's coming too? I would've told Ed and he probably would've come." Peter said innocently, oblivious to how Alice rolled her eyes at the mention of Edward's name. However, it didn't go unnoticed by Jasper who simply smirked.

"It's cool. Bella probably told him and he probably couldn't come." Riley jumped in, still bouncing up and down in place.

"Sorry for making you wait!" Bella called loudly, nearly slipping on the small patch of ice that she didn't notice. The guys' hands went out to grab her in case she fell, but luckily, she caught herself. "Whoa."

"You okay?" Alice giggled and her best friend nodded. Bella perked up and went over to Peter, kissing cheek to cheek in greeting.

"Hey, Peter." Alice couldn't deny she was a little jealous of her friend for having the comfort level of doing that. _In due time,_ she chanted repeatedly in her mind. The little group decided to scuffle towards a small café shop a block and a half away. The atmosphere had smooth jazz music that played in the background in a humming tone to not disrupt the people that were having conversations. It was a mixture of golds and browns that decorated the inside and it smelled like amber and sandalwood besides the pastries that were cooked. The café was extremely warm from blasting the heater to keep the customers toasty.

The five kids stripped off their coats and multiple layers, smelling the toasty smell in the air. It was just a reflex of nature, but the three guys peeked their glances at the two girls to see what they were wearing. However, they did it discretely so they weren't caught.

"I'm debating between a cappuccino or just regular black coffee." Alice murmured, mostly to herself. It was such a drastic difference, from a light and sweet drink to a bitter warm roast.

"Black coffee sounds so adult-like." Riley commented jokingly. Jasper knew that she had grown used to the taste years ago, after she tried to copy how her mom drank it freely. Alice used to think her mom was so cool drinking a black coffee with zero sugar, and never wincing once at the taste, it made her look more elegant in her eyes. So, she tried to do it, almost choking in the very beginning until she eventually stomached the taste and got accustomed to it. Now, sugar in coffee makes her feel nauseous.

"I don't really like sweets." She replied with a shrug of her shoulders. They all ordered their drinks, Alice settling for her black, unsweetened, coffee.

"Did you not have school today?" Bella asked, blowing over the top of her hot chocolate. Peter was in college most days of the week, so she was surprised he made it today.

"I did, but my professor canceled it." He explained casually. "Which is great because I forgot to do the homework and my friend wasn't in." Everyone chuckled under their breaths.

"You sound like Bella." Alice retorted humorously and Bella feigned hurt.

"Hey!" She whined.

"Oh, what she forgets to do her homework?" Peter wondered with a huge grin on his face as he looked back and forth between the girls.

"Yep." Alice popped emphasis on the 'p'. "Her math homework is never done and she always asks me at lunch time."

"It's just because I don't get it!" Bella sputtered an excuse and everyone noticed her cheeks go red, making all of them laugh. Jokes went back and forth between all of them and the aura seemed to ease around Alice again. She felt more comfortable talking to Peter, similarly to the night of Edward's party before he excused himself. He was making her laugh mindlessly and they even started leaning their bodies closer to one another when they spoke—an action Riley immediately picked up. He wasn't the only one who picked it up, though, Jasper noticed it as well. He was happy for Alice because it meant he helped out to get her one step closer to being with Peter. He wasn't blind, he saw the way Peter looked over at her every few minutes. Jasper tried to just focus on that instead of the inside prickling sensation that ran down his spine.

"I've actually been dying to watch that!" Alice squealed.

"The Aladdin Broadway show?" Riley lifted an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it looks phenomenal." Alice's favorite Disney movie was Aladdin so the fact that it was a Broadway show made it even better.

"We should go." Peter said the suggestion before he could even think it through. Alice blinked in surprise and licked her lips.

"Really?"

"Yeah." He shrugged, showcasing a small smile that made something inside Alice feel airy.

 _That's an expensive date_ , Jasper and Riley thought simultaneously. I mean I guess it didn't matter to the son of a well-known surgeon, but for a first date that really was spitting out cash.

"Oh!" Bella perked up, turning her full body towards Jasper who just gave her a confused look. "Maria wanted me to ask you for a favor." It got silent and Alice strained her hearing to listen to what Maria wanted of Jasper.

"From me?" Jasper sounded shocked but when Bella nodded, he gestured her to continue, unable to form words.

"She needed help with an art project and she knows that you're into that." Bella tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "So, she wanted to know if you could help her out sometime next week?" Any weird feelings Jasper had disappeared within a second and now his whole attention was focused on Bella and what she said. If Maria needed help from him then that meant they would most likely hang out just them two.

"Yes—" He cleared his throat and nodded. "Yeah, of course, just let me know when."

"I'll text her now and let her now." It was noticeable to anyone who looked at Alice that she was grinding her jaw. Her shoulders became stiff and her nostrils slightly flared. If they would hang out next week, then that meant that Jasper wouldn't ask her to hang out after school. The thought of him seeing Maria over her felt like something biting her.

The little group hung out for another hour until everyone had to go their own ways. Alice was slipping on her jacket while talking to Peter, when he suddenly asked for her number.

"We'll talk about that Broadway show." She didn't think he was serious. She stood there staring at him for a moment before digging in her pocket for her cell phone. They quickly exchanged numbers and he grinned at her. "Great. I'll text you tonight."

"Sounds great." She smiled back at him and they all said bye to one another. Bella and Riley went back with Peter in order to see Edward. All that was left was Jasper and Alice who walked in the opposite direction then their friends.

"It was a good day." Alice tilted her head towards the sky and sighed. "Thanks for setting it up, Jazz."

"No problem." He replied dryly. "I guess it worked out for both of us."

"That's right." She said looking up at the sky in an empty voice. "Maria is going to hang out with you."

"If it all goes according to plan." Alice swallowed her irritation and rubbed her lips together.

"You can't mess this up. If you hang out you can really get a lot out of it."

"I know." Jasper rubbed his hands before putting them in his coat pockets. He noticed how the sky was a pale pink color and it had gotten a little warmer than the typical below freezing weather they've had. That meant that there was a strong possibility of snow tonight. He couldn't wait until spring arrived to stop with all the layering. _Just two more weeks…_

Alice dropped her lipstick when she removed her hand from her pocket. She stopped walking and bent over at the waist to pick it up, when she felt a sharp slap on her butt. She whipped around and saw Jasper's prominent smirk on his face.

"Asshole." She hissed, not truly mad at him, while he laughed and shuffled beside her.

"Sorry, it was irresistible."

"I know I am." She threw him a seductive wink and he wished at that moment they could rent a hotel for just an hour.

 _Troublemaker,_ he thought.

...

"And please be careful for the night, okay?" Alice's mom said through the phone. Her voice was even but if someone really listened to it, they'd hear the worry etched into it. "Especially when you walk Luke."

"Don't worry, mom." Alice grabbed her blanket and threw it over the couch where her dog laid down, snoring. "Jasper and Charlotte are coming over. If I feel paranoid, I'll call Rosalie or Esme." Esme was the cook and the housekeeper of the family. She'd been there since Alice was born, when Caius and Harper first moved in after their marriage. She was a middle-aged woman with the kindest smile and the warmest eyes. Alice felt good when Esme was around because she could talk to her with no other judgement. She was off for the night, since Harper and Caius were going away for the night, but she always told Alice if she needed her, to call her and she'd be there.

Harper relaxed on the other side and sighed. She didn't like to seem like a paranoid mother, but she couldn't help herself. She sometimes forgot Alice was seventeen.

"What time are Jasper and Charlotte going over?" Alice peeked up at the grand clock beside the fireplace.

"Hm, within the next few minutes actually. So, go and enjoy your night with Aunt Amber and Uncle Aro. We'll talk when you get home tomorrow."

"Alright, take care for the night." After Alice hung up, she received the text from Jasper that he was here. She walked over to the door, her feet pattering loudly against the waxed floor. "I just sat down when you texted me." She fake-complained as a greeting to Jasper's full hands.

"Well hello to you too, Alice." He rolled his eyes with a laugh and stepped through to see her in a pair of silk blue matching shorts and shirt set pajamas. His eyes traveled along her pale legs and up to her face before placing the bags on the table in front of the couch. Alice was bouncing up and down excitedly clapping when Luke woke up and jumped on Jasper.

"Where's Charlotte?" She asked suddenly, peeking through the bag.

"She's at her friends, she'll be here later." Jasper lightly smacked her hands away, causing her to pout and sit with her arms tucked under her thighs. "I got your favorite sushi and a pint of your favorite ice cream." He took out each object in accordance and he could literally see her eyes glitter. The combination didn't sound good for the stomach but he had promised her the week before.

"Yes!" She squealed happily, bouncing up and down in her seat now. He handed her some chopsticks and she expertly broke them off and started rubbing them against each other. They eventually sat down and started picking through the eighty-dollars' worth of sushi rolls and sashimi. Alice had turned on the TV for Jasper to put something on while she chose a salmon sashimi piece and delicately dipped it into the soy sauce, proceeding to then place it in her mouth.

"Only you can make sushi look hot." He mumbled over his own sushi roll and Alice swallowed before speaking.

"It was sashimi, Jazz." She said matter-of-factly. "But thanks, I'm just a hot person." She winked and he leaned over and skimmed his nose down the column of her neck. Alice shivered and suddenly lost appetite to her food.

"Stop." She moaned, debating between hiding her neck or giving it more access. He didn't pay her any mind and let the tip of his tongue skim the areas his breath would hit, making her gasp. "Jazz." She groaned and he felt himself becoming rock solid. "Stop."

"Why'd you have to get your period?" He grumbled, annoyed he even had to say the words. However, he didn't stop his assault on her neck. "I can't do as I please with you."

"It means I'm not pregnant, which is good for us." She tilted her head back slightly more to give him more access. "You're making me want to fuck you right now." Again, the vulgarity of her words aroused him more, but he knew there was no more they could really do.

"You have no idea how bad I'd like to pin you against this couch." He whispered. The rasp of his voice made Alice feel crazed, so she gripped a handful of material of his shirt in her hand and pulled him closer to him. Luke had hopped off the couch and gone towards Alice's room to nestle in between her soft sheets. "Al?" The look in her eye made him curious. She quickly settled between his legs and spread his legs open. Her fingers quickly unzipped his jeans which made him nearly choke in anticipation when he realized what she was going to do.

He didn't even have time to process what was going on because her mouth was around him completely. His breathing hitched at the sensation that enveloped him and within seconds Alice started moving along him. Her head bobbed up and down with each of her movements and Jasper's moans suddenly got louder and more powerful than their breathy groans.

"Oh shit, Alice." He groaned loudly, throwing his head against the couch and his fingers gripping her hair from the root. She took his sounds of pleasure as a reward that she herself was getting off on and she was pissed that nothing could progress for her after she was done. Jasper closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth her mouth surrounded him in. His eyes snapped open and he jerked forward when her tongue passed along him in between her movements. "Fuck." He gasped and Alice moaned against him. He looked down and saw her position near the floor, between his legs and felt himself getting more turned on—if that was possible.

He suddenly felt the movements from her intensifying into the wildest pleasure. Something in him was gathering but he wanted her to go faster. His muscles tensed up, something Alice took note on as she continued. _He's going to come._ With one final pass of her tongue along the tip of him he moaned loudly, pressing his fingers against her couch and pushing his feet onto the floor. Alice's mouth was full and in any other situation she would have spit, but she swallowed and pulled back. Jasper was panting with a fully sated half-eyed look. He couldn't believe she really did that—it was something he didn't even know he wanted.

Alice picked herself up from the floor and took her seat beside Jasper again. A small silence hung in the air, only Jasper's labored breathing heard, before he threw his head back again.

"That was…fucking amazing." He said out loud, briefly thinking back to it. Alice raised an eyebrow with a smirk and leaned her head against her hand. She enjoyed that she was able to make him feel like that. It was a sense of empowerment for her.

"It sounded like you liked it." She giggled and he tilted his head, opening one eye to see her.

"That's an understatement." He grinned, getting near her so their noses were barely touching each other. Alice still didn't get her own fix, so the proximity made her feel fuzzy and warm. However, since she couldn't do anything, she just pushed him back and reached over for her sushi. She held the tray under her lips as she chewed on a yellowtail roll, but she suddenly leaned her head against Jasper's shoulder. It was a sweet gesture that surprised Jasper at first. He wasn't expecting it but he saw she was comfortably lying down and chewing on her food, so he didn't move much. Instead he used his one hand to reach into her sushi tray and pop it into his mouth while the other was wrapped around her slender waist.

They watched some TV until they finished all the food they had in front of them. Alice decided to wait some time to eat her pistachio ice cream, so she hugged her legs closer to her chest and snuggled closer to Jasper. He was shockingly so comfortable to lay on, she found herself drifting off every few minutes along with his even breathing.

"My grandma is coming soon." Alice started and Jasper hummed in response.

"Mama Heidi?" He asked as a rhetorical question. "When is she coming?"

"I think next week she's stopping by." Alice only knew her maternal grandmother—Heidi—because her paternal grandma died almost ten years ago. Heidi was in her mid-fifties but looked spectacular for her age. She dressed to perfection and lived by the rule that she was not allowed to walk out of the house undone. Alice loved her grandmother because she was strict with everyone, except her granddaughter. She was a total softie with Alice and she always shared her own stories and advice with her for whatever she was going through. When Alice's ex-boyfriend Jin left back to Korea, her grandmother was her second supporting shoulder—after Jasper—to help her get back on her feet.

Heidi also had a soft spot for Jasper since she had known him since the crib-days. Jasper was also a respectful but humorous kid. It reminded her of her late husband so she always asked him to crack a joke for her. Jasper really enjoyed Heidi's company and even called her 'mama Heidi' as a term of endearment. In the beginning it was a joke, but after time it just stuck. She was one of the only people that asked him what _he_ wanted to do with _his_ life without shutting him down. She loved the pictures he took and encouraged his photography career, scoffing whenever Aro said otherwise. He had to make sure he kept a day open to see her, because if he didn't he would surely get a chiding phone call from her. If she was coming then that also meant a reasonably large and expensive dinner was going to be presented.

"I have to get my good suit out for her." He cleared his throat jokingly and Alice laughed, shaking her head.

"It's just my grandma." She replied dismissively and Jasper looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Exactly—and what's her rule?"

"Not allowed to walk out being undone." Alice recited through her laughter and Jasper laughed along with her.

"That should tell you more than enough. Didn't she go on vacation?"

"Yeah." Alice answered with a swift nod of her head. "She went to Italy—well, the Vatican City with her friends and then she stopped by Paris and Berlin." Jasper let out a low whistle.

"My girl is living the life I want to live." He laughed. "We should go somewhere in Europe." He tossed the idea out there casually. Jasper's second dream was to travel to as many places as he possibly could. Alice always agreed with that dream and they made a pact to travel together to at least one place by the age of twenty when they were kids. For some reason, Jasper's idea made her feel as if she was flying in air and her lips spread into a wide smile.

"And where shall we go?" She threw back and he pressed his lips into a firm line and fell deep into thought. Alice took the moment to appreciate the structure of his face and the smoothness of his facial features. The sharpness of his nose and the long eyelashes he had—which would make any girl envious. His face was back to normal and completely different from when it was twisting in pleasure. She wasn't sure which face she enjoyed more.

"I don't know…Morocco, South Africa, Greece?"

"That's not all Europe." She chuckled but he shrugged lightly, continuing with his little rant.

"We can go anywhere. We can invite Rose—" Alice felt a small pang in her chest. Not that she didn't like her friend, but—

"And Bella." She chipped in after swallowing a rough pill and plastering a fake smile on her face.

"We'd have to tell Bella now if we want her to go." Jasper laughed making an innocent jab at their friend, knowing she didn't have much money.

"Don't be an ass, Jazz." Although she said that, Alice couldn't help the giggle that slipped through her lips.

"You laughed." He pointed to her free-laughing form. It was the contrary to her rigid self she liked to show off. The sudden violent vibration of Jasper's cell phone made both of them jump. His brows furrowed together, but he reached over, immediately seeing the name 'Maria' flying across his screen to show she texted him. He felt nervous and excited seeing her name on his phone that his fingers jittered. Alice peeked over him, to see who it was and what caused his sudden reaction switch, to see that it was his object of affection. She rolled her eyes. Jasper didn't even notice her presence anymore, let alone that she was irritated.

"I need to call Maria." He said and she scrunched her nose.

"Why?"

"She asked me to. Maybe its something important." _Doubt it_ , Alice thought bitterly. Jasper didn't wait for an answer he simply scuffled over to the corner and called the small Spanish girl.

The phone rang twice before the higher-toned female answered on the other side with a simple hello.

"Hey Maria." Jasper had been getting better with talking with Maria. He didn't stutter as often or choke with his words. He wouldn't say he was an expert but he was feeling more comfortable which meant that there was progress.

"Hi Jasper!" He wasn't sure if he heard excitement from her or if his mind was playing tricks on him. "Sorry to bother you if you were doing something."

"Nah don't worry about it, I was doing nothing important." He either didn't realize how loud his voice was or the severity of his words, because Alice immediately felt something painful in her chest. She quickly took out her phone and texted Rosalie to stop by her place. Within seconds, Rose texted back in agreement and invited herself over to sleep at her place.

Alice wasn't sure what was wrong with her, all she knew is that she wanted to throw her high heel at Jasper. She felt almost diminished at his dismissal of her. _Not doing anything my ass, as if I didn't just blow him._ She glared lasers into his back, while he smiled like an idiot.

Ten minutes passed and Jasper was still on the phone with Maria while Alice bounced her leg impatiently and stuck a spoon into the ice cream tub. _Weren't we supposed to hang out?_ She fumed in her mind, unable to shake the feeling of being second best.

Her phone suddenly signaled her that Rose was outside and she hopped out of her seat. When she opened the door, she was so happy to see a friendly face that she didn't want to punch. The blonde beauty had her hair pin straight and parted down the middle. She wore tight-fitted jeans with her heavy navy coat. On her shoulder she had her bag that probably was filled with clothes and her cheeks were pink from the cold.

"What up!" She said in greeting, beaming from ear to ear. "I'm so glad you called, I was bored as shit." She walked past her friend into her place and saw Jasper, who whipped around to the familiar voice. "Jasper!" She exclaimed. "I didn't know you were here." Rose turned took look at her friend and saw that her jaw was taut, meaning she was pissed.

Rose saw Jasper whisper something quickly into his phone and hang up, stuffing it in his pocket. She felt some animosity coming from Alice's side but she decided against asking for the moment.

"Rose, what are you doing here?" He wondered, his eyes noticing that the ice cream was being eaten and the trays of sushi were now in the bag to go to the trash. _When did all that happen?_ Rosalie put down the bag she carried in the same place Alice and Jasper were seated earlier.

"I decided to stop by after Al texted me." His eyes squinted infinitesimally. _What the fuck? Why?_

"Charlotte's stopping by anyways before you go." Alice shrugged. "I was going to tell you but you were on the phone with Maria." Rose's eyebrows raised.

"Oh, how nice, lover boy." She complimented and he cracked a grin. "What'd she want?"

"To talk about a project, I'm going to help her on."

"That's good. You know what happens when two people are left alone." She threw him a wink. She really didn't know the half of how accurate that statement was. "Well your sister's coming?"

"Yeah, she should be here in about twenty minutes." He took a glimpse of his watch before stuffing his hands back into his pocket.

"Let's eat some ice cream and watch some stuff." She quickly popped the spoon Alice used moments earlier into her own mouth with some ice cream. Jasper glanced at Alice but she just walked over to Rose and plopped next to her.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Alice was up the moment the sun peeked into her room. She was an incredibly light sleeper so anything woke her up. While Rosalie was sprawled out next to her, lightly snoring with every breath she took, Alice sat on her bead, her knees pressed against her chest while she brooded over the events of last night. She wasn't over it whatsoever. She was having the internal battle between both parts of her brain. One part was furious that Maria texted yesterday and Jasper jumped at just her name at his phone. She couldn't fathom that he dismissed her as unimportant to talk to her either—she felt personally hurt. However, the other side of her brain was warning her that she was being too dramatic. That this wasn't something he did purposely, he's just an idiot that babbles stupidity when talking to the girl he liked. _Liked._

Alice sighed. Somehow repeating that Jasper liked Maria in her mind didn't make her feel indifferent anymore. She didn't want to help him keep planning ways to get her in his room or to be his girlfriend.

"What's with all the sighing." Rosalie yawned, rubbing her eyes that she blinked at the harsh sunlight. Alice jumped at her voice—not expecting her to wake up anytime soon. Especially because she was a late sleeper.

"You scared me." She clutched at her chest and Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"My bad." Again, she yawned, not fully awake from her sleep. "What's going on? You've looked pissy since yesterday." Her hair looked like a haystack and she had trouble keeping her eyes opened. "Don't give me that confused look. No one sighs for no reason or looks murderous." _I'm being too obvious._

"I'm on my period so I feel annoyed at everything." As she said that, she partly believed it. When she was in her menstruation cycle, her hormones did bounce of the wall. Rose gave her a side eye, but didn't press the issue. Alice wasn't one to open up if she bluntly put up a wall. Rose knew she'd give it a month or so before she'd tell her herself. "I'm surprised you're up this early."

"Me too." She mumbled. "My body's been waking up at odd hours. I'm not going to lie though, I could probably fall back asleep for another few hours." She shrugged casually. "The silk sheets are so comfortable." Alice flipped over and snuggled her face against the soft, cool fabric.

"Your birthday's coming up, you know, have you thought about what we're going to do?" As tradition, the three friends always got together and hung out for Rosalie's birthday. Bella would go if she got permission and if the plans weren't too expensive, but Rose knew that so she never really got offended. She would usually visit Bella a day or so after and they'd just have coffee in her home.

Rosalie perked up and started grinning from ear to ear. She loved celebrations, especially her birthday. She would always go all out and make the night memorable—at least for herself.

"It's still a good seven months away."

"But with the parties you throw, we need to plan a year in advance." Both girls laughed and fell into the rhythm of party planning.

"I just want to do an all-out home party." Rosalie used her hand to gesture different movements.

"That's different from the past years. You usually do clubs and lounges." Rosalie was going to turn eighteen so in actuality she shouldn't be allowed anywhere near clubs or alcohol, however, the city revolved around money. Rosalie Hale had a lot of money. She made a face.

"I know, but that's so sixteen and seventeen years old." She waved her hand around. "I just want something at home so when I'm tired and want to pass out I don't have to take a cab back home."

"Fair enough." Alice replied. "So, is it going to be themed?"

"I mean, I don't think so—at least for now I can't think of anything." Rosalie answered, folding her legs into pretzel position. "But you have to help me plan it, of course."

"Duh." Alice drawled out jokingly and again both girls fell into a fit of laughter. "By the way, how's the romance life going?" Rosalie was a well-known girl. She went to all the parties and events and always had a good time without being trashy. She was tall and curvaceous, making her look older than her seventeen years of age, and was stunningly beautiful so it was no surprise that guys lusted after her. Although, Rose always said she had no time for romance at this age. She liked a boy a lot two years ago and when he cheated on her, she felt heart broken. Since that day she convinced herself that she wouldn't believe anything was permanent at this age. She'd rather hook up here and there with people.

"It's just going." She retorted. "I mean I have a date with this guy named Emmett." She shrugged and Alice immediately perked up, curious as ever to know the details.

"Oh, do tell, do tell."

"He's a college kid. He goes to John Jay for criminal psychology I think." She put her finger near her lip. "Or was it for criminal justice… well one of those." She waved along.

"Enough about that—When is the date? Is he cute? Where's he from?"

"It's next Saturday, a dinner somewhere."

"Oh food is the way to the heart."

"He's from Staten Island—"

"Oh, so over the ferry."

"He's really tall, like taller than me with heels on." Alice gave her a thumb's up. "And he's really hot with muscles and everything. Oh! And curly hair."

"Then why do you sound so bored?"

"I don't know, this stuff doesn't excite me. I swear I might die alone with a cat."

"Well at least go _on_ the date and see if you like him. You don't know, maybe you'll end up liking him." She scrunched up her nose, but didn't even bother answering her hopeless romantic friend.

"Enough about pointless shit. How about your love life?" Inside, Alice tensed up, but she kept a cool façade so that it wouldn't give her away to Rose.

"There's nothing to really tell."

"What about Peter?" She asked and Alice bit the corner of her lip. "You said you hung out on that awkward group date shit. Whose idea was that anyways?"

"Jasper's." Rose rolled her eyes.

"Of course it was." She muttered.

"I haven't really spoken to Peter."

"Didn't you say you exchanged numbers?"

"Yeah and then we talked for like an hour and it died."

"What was the last thing you said?"

"It was the cute 'smiley face' emoji." Rosalie expected something more to come out of her best friend's mouth but when it didn't, she looked at her with a bewildered expression. "What?"

"Are you serious? A smiley face emoji? That's all?"

"Yeah, I wasn't sure what to answer."

"So, you give him a smiley face and expect him to answer back?" Rose raised an eyebrow and Alice frowned.

"What's wrong with that? If he wanted to talk to me he could've come up with anything."

"Who wants to talk to someone who gave no leeway for a conversation." Rose countered roughly. "You've got the personality of a rock sometimes." Alice felt slightly offended but she brushed it off.

"What would you have done then, Ms. Know-it-all."

"At least sent a 'how's your day going?' text." She sighed. "Guys are complex where we see nothing wrong with just sending an emoji or picture, they take it as we don't want to talk. Their attention span is of a squirrel and if its not overly-simplified they back off. They need excitement."

"You know a lot for not having a boyfriend…"

"You don't need to be in a relationship to know this." She replied. "I date _a lot_ of guys and what guys I stay friends with afterwards, I ask them questions like this. They answer me with their opinions on situations and give me advice."

"So, what do I do now?"

"I mean you could contact him first." Rosalie suggested knowing fully well Alice was going to squirm. She hasn't really ever done that so it's out of the comfort zone for her.

"But what do I say?"

"Al, just say 'hi, how are you.'" Rosalie laughed at her friend's innocence. She noticed Alice's iPhone was faced down on the night table beside her. She reached over and got it, plopping back down next to Alice. "Here, let me help you." She unlocked the phone easy, knowing her password. Between the three friend's they all knew each other's phones because they all hacked into them occasionally. Rosalie clicked on the message icon and saw Peter's name was about four text's down. She clicked on it and saw the dreaded 'cute face emoji,' Alice talked about. "Sweet child, let's fix this shit and get you a man." Rosalie ran her fingers over the keyboard and quickly typed a message, giving Alice three seconds to look over it before she sent it.

Alice threw herself on top of her pillow and screamed into it. "Oh my god!" She muffled into the pillow. Her heart was racing. It was the same feeling you get when you send a risky text. Her heart was banging against her chest, she thought it might break through the ribcage. "Rose."

"I can't hear you." Rosalie whined, scrolling through and waiting to see if Peter answered. Alice picked up her head and repeated herself. Rose paid her no mind because she saw that Peter was typing back. "He read it and is typing back!" Alice tumbled next to her friend as they both looked at the screen. "Thank god for read receipts."

"I'm so scared."

"You literally said hello." Rose laughed. "There's nothing to be scared about. The worst that could happen is he doesn't answer—" She waved the phone in the air. "But clearly that's not happening." Alice felt butterflies in her stomach and a new rush of excitement that overtook any previous feelings. She hugged Rosalie and focused her concentration on the phone in front of her. Any disturbing thoughts or feelings she had just disappeared for the moment.

* * *

When Jasper arrived to the lunch room on Monday, he realized that Bella and Maria were there, chitchatting. However, Alice was no where to be seen. He frowned slightly and shot her a quick text message.

"Hey Jasper." Bella smiled sweetly, taking a pause with her conversation with Maria. Maria also gave him a huge smile that he couldn't help but return.

"Hey guys." He slid into his seat. His eyes bounced back and forth repeatedly to grab a view of Alice. "Bella?"

"Hm?"

"Where's Alice?" She shrugged and took a sip from her water bottle.

"I'm not sure, did you shoot her a text?" Jasper whipped out his phone again, staring at the blank screen and nodded. Neither party noticed the dissatisfied frown that came across Maria's face. After a second, a text vibrated in his hand and he saw it was Alice.

 _'Coming'_ she answered and he felt slightly relieved. Moments later, she appeared with Riley behind her, her eyes concentrated on the phone in front of her.

"Hello good people." Riley grinned taking a seat and Jasper narrowed his eyes at him.

"You were with Alice?" He whispered taking his friend by surprise.

"I found her in the hallway on the way here."

"Sorry I'm late." She chirped happily, capturing everyone's attention. Jasper instantly noticed her eyes were twinkling with joy and she was smiling from ear to ear. He was pretty sure if he continued staring he'd see butterflies appear around her.

 _What's with her?_

"Where'd you go?" Bella questioned casually, taking the math answers as she usually did.

"I was helping a kid in my class with a question." She responded. "And then I got caught texting." Alice could barely contain her smile, making Bella raise an eyebrow at her.

"Who're you texting?"

"Peter." She was beaming.

"Really?" Riley asked in shock. "Well fuck yeah, I'm glad that meeting worked for you guys. Have you guys been talking since then?" Slightly embarrassed, Alice shook her head no and fixed herself in her seat.

"Since the weekend."

 _This weekend?_ Jasper thought. _Alice didn't tell me anything._ He was both annoyed and a little hurt that she would keep something from him while he shared everything with her. He was even over her place over the weekend.

"You have to tell me more about that later." Bella gushed, scribbling the answers into her own notebook. The air went silent but Riley started conversation to get everyone involved.

Suddenly Maria looked at her watch and scrambled her things together, nearly toppling over when she tried to stand up. Jasper's hand shot out but it wasn't necessary because she steadied herself, clutching her books.

"Sorry guys, I have to go and take my test."

"What test?" Riley asked, popping a fry into his mouth.

"English."

"Ew." He countered with a scowl. It was clear that English was not his favorite topic nor a topic he was good at. Maria giggled at his reaction but didn't give him an answer. Instead she turned her eyes to the blonde kid in front of her and smiled softly.

"I'll see you later, Jasper?" It was more of a question then a statement. She wanted confirmation, which Jasper gladly gave her with a nod of his own.

"I'll meet you outside of your last class." He answered and she felt a giddy sensation flutter through her stomach. She threw a wave over her shoulder and turned to walk away.

"Did I miss something here?" Riley interrupted.

"I'm helping Maria with an art project." He replied simply with a shrug. "You knew this."

"I didn't think it'd actually happen if I was being honest." It's not that he didn't think Maria wouldn't fall for Jasper, but rather his friend was a shy mess when it came to her. He waited for him to self-destruct himself before making it that far.

At the end of lunch period, everyone picked up their stuff and started walking towards their class. Jasper accompanied Alice after Bella took a detour to the bathroom. The air was heavy between them because they really didn't know what to say.

"Today's your thing with Maria then, huh?" Alice cut in, grabbing Jasper's attention. He nodded and stretched his arms over his head. "Are you going to try to pull a move?"

"I'm not sure." He responded. "I haven't really thought of it. Just thinking of being together later makes me all nervous." Alice cracked her neck.

"Mm." Alice mused to herself, before checking her phone for another text from Peter. She figured probably not because he had class today and he said he didn't text while on it. Jasper peeked at where her new-found interest went and ground his jaw.

"I'm surprised you didn't tell me you were talking to Peter again." He mentioned as nonchalantly as if he spoke about the weather outside. Alice looked up but saw his face wasn't angry or upset at all, contrary to what she thought his voice sounded.

"Oh." She popped. "I did it the day after Rosalie slept over. She texted him for me." She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

 _Of course Rose would text him first. Alice wouldn't dare._ Jasper thought.

"Are you mad?" Her voice was high pitched and she felt almost hopeful? Was that a normal reaction to have? Jasper's eyebrows crinkled together.

"No." Alice deflated. "I just thought we told each other everything, considering everything that happens with Maria I tell you."

"I—" She stuttered. "Look I'm sorry I didn't say anything, so stop taking it so personal. I'll keep _you_ up to date with what I do." Her smile wasn't as sweet as she portrayed it to be. It had some acid to it and her voice had bite to it. She picked up the pace so that she could be in front of her class rather than be next to Jasper.

"Hey, why are you walking so fast? Don't tell me you actually want to go to class."

"I do want to get an education." She sneered and he laughed, gripping her arm and halting her.

"Come on, hold up." He said. The place his fingers gripped her felt warm so she yanked her arm back. "Your hormones are tackling you like a motherfucker this month." Jasper muttered under his breath. "Alright, alright, I'm leaving." He put up his hands. "I'll see you tonight at dinner."

"Yeah, I know, it's at your place today." She waved her hand and walked into her class, ignoring Jasper.

* * *

Jasper waited by the classroom on the first floor. He left his class purposely early to make it on time and took a peek inside to see the Spanish girl scribbling heavily in her notebook. She looked studious and like she was concentrating hard on whatever the teacher was saying—something he couldn't relate to.

The bell rang, scaring him out of his trance and alerting the whole class that school had ended. They all had their lives back and wasted no time whatsoever gathering their stuff and running out. Maria grabbed her cell phone and started to walk towards the door when she caught view of the handsome guy that stood on the opposite wall. She felt the small pounding of her heart in her chest.

"Hey." She said softly with a smile and he returned the same gesture with a head nod.

"Hey, ready to go?"

"Mhm." She answered. "Where should we go?"

 _My place,_ Jasper thought smarmily, although he knew if he said that out loud it wouldn't go so smoothly. Maria would probably get offended and with all due right because she wasn't that type of girl and he didn't want to scare her away.

"Um…" He looked around before an idea struck him. "How about the library? Does that work?" Maria perked up and nodded enthusiastically. "Then let's head over there."

On the way over there, Jasper realized he hadn't stepped foot in the library to actually learn or do anything educational in over three months, not including their winter break. Even the librarian was surprised to see him, because she raised her eyebrows and she looked at his figure over the rim of her glasses. Maria took a seat near the back, where the table was small but also big enough to sit four people. She quickly unloaded her art supplies, including her sketchbook and some gray pencils.

Jasper removed his sweater, exposing the light t-shirt he wore beneath. Maria took note of the casualness he exuded compared to how perfectly coiffed his hair was. She bit her lip, keeping her laugh to herself.

"So what's the project?" Jasper rubbed his hands together and looked over the paper with the instructions. "Draw yourself as a flower?" He made a face, scrunching up his nose. "And make you a 'dangerous' flower?"

"It's a weird project but we're supposed to project ourselves into the flower. At least the good parts of the flower." She sighed. "I can't draw realistically how she wants me to. I'll fail if that's the case."

"It's not that bad." Jasper shrugged his shoulders and flipped through the sketchbook. "The best advice when it comes to drawing is feeling it rather than learn the practicality of it."

"How would I represent myself as a flower? It can't be a traditional rose with a lot of thorns." Jasper grabbed one of the pencils and tapped the tip against his lip.

"Hm." He mused. His focus shifted completely, like a button. Maria saw how his usual attitude mellowed out and how his eyes traced what he was coming up with on the spot. "If I would represent you, I would draw a beautiful flower." He said in an unintentional serious voice which caused Maria to blush. "With long and wide petals." His fingers drew his words in the air. "I would represent the danger in the color of the flower. I would make it a pure white color—" _For innocence,_ he thought. "And rim it with a blood red color. The beauty that lures someone in." He fisted his fingers. "And for the real danger I would put thorns at the base of the flower, rather than along the stem." He continued and Maria tilted her head.

"Why the base?"

"Because most people that smell flowers skim their fingers along the base." He grinned cheekily. "But its hard to tell if you don't see it automatically." She had a tough time imagining what he was seeing in his own vision, but she didn't want to bring him down when he looked like he was having fun. Maybe she needed to see a small visual to understand what he was talking about. "Here, let me draw you a quick sketch—" His finger lightly gripped the pencil and it glided across the paper quicker than she ever imagined. The lines suddenly twisted together to create a beautiful picture and Maria's smile was bigger than ever.

"Oh my god, I love it." She gushed, taking her eyes away from the picture to look at Jasper. Their eyes met but she quickly looked down at the painting again. She suddenly felt like a child with butterflies in her stomach.

"I'll help you draw it." He offered and soon enough he was giving her pointers on how to draw. Explaining to her where to grab the pencil from and how to slide it across the page without much thought. When it came down to the thorns, like a sick cliché romance, Jasper encased her fingers in his and glided the pencil to draw the thorns. Maria's face was like a tomato and she was glad that she was facing away from Jasper, or he'd probably laugh at her. She was certain that he could feel the heat radiating from her hands or feel the sweat on her palms.

At the end, both of them looked at the work incredibly impressed. It was truly something worth an 'A'. Jasper noticed it was almost four thirty and that the library would be kicking them out soon. So, he turned to gather his sweater, not noticing the way the pretty girl in front of him stared at his toned arms and the compass on his bicep. It was so strange for her to see someone in high school with a tattoo—it just reminded her that they were that much closer to being able to do as they please and being adults.

Like a true gentleman, Jasper opened the door and let Maria walk out first, following closely after her. Maria held the sketchbook tightly in her arms and they walked in small silence. Jasper couldn't think of a single thing to say, though, which was starting to eat alive at him. Luckily for him, Maria had her big boy pants on that day and struck a conversation.

"You draw very well, you know." She commented, looking over at him. He felt great pride in the compliment, especially since it came from such a pretty girl.

"Thank you." He responded.

"Where did you learn that from?"

"My grandfather used to do a lot of free-hand paintings so I saw him draw when I was little." Maria appreciated that he told her that, but it only made her want to know more about him. "But I guess it's also because I have an affinity for the arts."

"Really? What else do you like?"

"Photography is my favorite thing." He replied immediately with no hesitation. "I could be behind a camera all day." His voice almost sounded dream-like and she noticed the softness around his eyes and the way the corner of his lip tilted upward.

"Oh, do you shoot people?"

"Yes." _Alice,_ he thought in his mind. Alice was almost always the project he focused on because she was willing to experiment with anything for good photos. Among his other favorites were his mother and sister and occasionally Rosalie. "Would you like a shoot?" He suggested with a cocked eyebrow and a slight smirk. Maria instantly shook her head viciously, waving her hands around.

"No, no, no." She stumbled. "I don't like taking pictures, I never know what to do." She felt like a camera was similar to a spotlight. It made her tense up and look stiff in photos. They weren't really her thing. However, Jasper took her reluctance as a joke, because he thought all girls loved photos. Little did he know how wrong he was and how serious Maria was. The two of them continued with their small talk and moved infinitesimally closer towards each other—progressing to uncharted territory.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Jasper, please behave with Heidi today." His mom warned on the way up in the elevator. Jasper yawned and pulled on his collar. "No rude jokes."

"I don't do rude jokes with her, mom." Jasper answered swiftly and he noticed the way his father gave him a side eye.

"Behave yourself is essentially what we're asking." Aro requested and Amber put her hand against his arm to whine him down. Charlotte and Jasper exchanged a look but otherwise said nothing. The elevator dinged and opened up to the top floor. Once they knocked, Alice quickly opened the door. She looked more mature than usual with her high collared, sleeveless, dress. It hung closely on her body and almost hit the floor. On her right side there was a high slit that gave way to the skin of her leg. Her make up was sharper than on usual days and her long hair was picked up and softly piled into a messy bun. A few strands of hair framed her face and gave her a fresh look to her. She immediately smiled and moved over to the side, gesturing for Aro and Amber to go in.

"Hi uncle, hi auntie!" She greeted cheerfully. Amber gave her a returning warm smile and pecked her cheek. Aro's soft side quickly showed itself and he followed suit. Alice saw Charlotte in her adorable burgundy dress with sky rocket boots.

While Alice looked at Charlotte, Jasper looked at Alice. In his mind, she looked amazingly gorgeous. She was always a well-put girl but when she had to, she put herself together more than he could even come up with. Her eyes contrasted beautifully with the makeup and her pale skin. As if she could read his mind, she looked up and saw him. She quickly smiled, showing off all of her teeth and gestured him to hurry inside.

"Hurry up." She chided and he took three long strides inside. Once she closed the door, he grabbed her elbow, softly, and pressed his lips against her cheek—shocking her. When he pulled back he saw her eyes were wide and were blinking rapidly, as if she were in a daze. She looked like a puppy with her eyes and he wanted to kiss her.

"Charlotte, Jasper." Harper walked in dressed in a black mid-length dress. She was happy to see the two kids and proceeded to greet them with a peck on the cheek. Behind her followed Esme with a kind smile on her face. Her light brown hair was picked up into an elegant chignon Alice helped her with earlier. "Esme, would you please take their jackets?"

"Of course, madam." She took a step forward, requesting their jackets and efficiently made off to put them away.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Harper asked, signaling Alice to snap out of it and host.

"Just water, aunt Harper." Charlotte responded.

"I'm okay, auntie, thank you." Jasper replied and Harper nodded, waving Alice over. Alice walked over and she placed her hands on top of her shoulders.

"Take them to see mom. She'll be happy to see them." Harper whispered and Alice nodded. "I'm going to get some drinks."

"Sure thing." The soft pattering against the bare floor caused people to notice Luke walking out with his tail wagging and his tongue sticking out. "Luke, what are you doing here cute boy?" Alice's voice went into baby mode and she waved him over.

"What's up, buddy." Jasper grinned, ruffling his head. That elicited a bigger smile from Luke's end and a rub against Jasper's leg with his head. Alice continued to call them over until they got into the dining area where Aro and Amber were already chatting with Caius and Heidi.

Jasper saw that Heidi was wearing a beige pantsuit and her black hair was cut into a sharp bob. He quickly saw the resemblance she had with her daughter—Harper, but Jasper noticed the more resemblance between her and her granddaughter. They shared the similar dark hair and most of the similar features. She was entertained chatting with the adults that she didn't even notice the kids walk in.

"Sorry for interrupting—" Alice cut in politely. "Grandma, Jasper and Charlotte are here." Heidi turned around, revealing her hazel-like eyes and her wicked grin.

"Hey there young kids." Charlotte gave her a respectful kiss on the cheek and then Heidi looked up at Jasper, whose smile immediately became lopsided.

"Mama Heidi." He called, opening his arms wide and walking towards her. She laughed and engulfed him in a hug, while giving him a pat on the back. Aro always thought that Jasper's teasing could be too far and he was always nervous Heidi might take it as his son was being disrespectful. He hid his emotions behind the glass of whiskey, while Caius laughed and pointed at them.

"No one gets Heidi quite like your son." He commented but Aro didn't answer, unsure of what to say.

"How have you been, Jasper?" Heidi asked once she pulled back from their hug. In her eyes, he looked well. He was becoming more handsome as the time went on and she could imagine he had many women after him.

"I've been good. Just hanging out and doing some schoolwork." She raised an eyebrow and he laughed. "Trying to do my schoolwork."

"That sounds more believable." Harper returned to the dining room with two glasses. One with water and another with white wine.

"Everyone, dinner will be served in ten minutes so please start getting ready to sit."

Heidi was swept into adult conversations again so the younger people were left to their own devices. Alice and Jasper chatted with Charlotte but every now and then answered their phones when they rang. Alice continued to text Peter since Rose's help and Jasper started texting Maria since the other night after she thanked him for helping with the art project.

Once dinner was served everyone ate while softly buzzing with conversation. Heidi talked about all of her adventures she took in Europe. She had some photos of the scenery and even bragged lightly about the clothes she bought from there.

"We wish we were you grandma." Alice giggled, taking a sip of the white wine served in front of her. Heidi smirked at her and popped a piece of veal into her mouth.

"You'll get there one day, baby."

"We were thinking of taking a trip together one day." Jasper said randomly, making all heads snap to him. Both sets of parents felt a feeling of discomfort trying to decipher who this 'we' he spoke of us was. Before they could ask, Jasper continued. "Alice, me, Rose, Riley—maybe even Bella." The discomfort settled and they all took a deep breath.

"Oh, how is Bella?" Heidi asked Alice.

"She's good." She responded with a nod. "Still with her boyfriend so no new news."

"And when do you all want to do that?" Caius questioned while chewing on his veal.

"We—" Jasper pointed between Alice and himself. "Made a pact when we were little to go somewhere before we were twenty, uncle."

"It'll be fun." Alice jumped in. "Maybe somewhere in Europe or Africa." Harper took a long drag of her wine but said nothing more.

"Hey, how come I'm not invited?" Charlotte whined with a pout on her lips.

"Because—"

"Don't exclude your sister, Jazz." His mom scolded and he sighed.

"Fine. You can come Char."

"I think it sounds like a good idea." Heidi interjected nonchalantly making all eyes switch to hers. "They want to travel and see the world. I think that's normal and okay. Besides, they all know each other for years so its people they trust going along as well." She rubbed her hands together. "Rose has known them since before they were teens and the other kids have been friends for years with them as well."

"They are young though, Heidi." Aro disagreed in the most inoffensive manner he could.

"You'd never let me do that, mom." Harper piped in and Heidi put a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"You were a wild child, my sweet daughter." She had no issue reminding Harper of her wilder days where she liked to party and get in trouble by school authority. As a result, she frowned and squirmed in her seat making Caius, Amber and Aro laugh. "My granddaughter is a good girl. Besides, I did allow you to go on a school field trip to France once you were in your senior year."

"Thanks grandma." Alice grinned from ear to ear at her grandma's never waning support. Heidi threw her a wink.

"They're seniors next year so I think it's something they should be allowed to do." Heidi shrugged. "But that's just my opinion." She reached over to her wine and circled the liquid in the glass.

"Greece here we come!" Jasper cheered quietly from the side. He and Alice gave each other a knowing smile knowing they most definitely got their plans accepted.

Dinner was picked up and they all stood up and did what they had to do. The parents gossiped amongst each other and Charlotte was busy playing with Luke by the couch. Jasper and Alice stood by the fireplace and discussed amongst each other their own things.

"I'm going to tell Bella about our plans then." Alice said and Jasper nodded.

"Yeah, she has to get permission first too before even saving up money. How is she by the way? I heard her arguing on the phone the other day." Alice raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"It must be because she's arguing with Edward again."

"Those two are really going at it lately. Has their honeymoon stage passed?"

"Oh, their honeymoon stage is definitely gone since last year." She retorted sarcastically. "I personally think Edward's douche side is coming out."

"You just don't like him."

"Give me a reason I should like him." She gave him a look but gave him no moment to answer. "He thinks he's better because he's older than us."

"You've been mad ever since his party." Jasper tried to hold back his laughter but it failed the moment Alice glared at him. He laughed full force, capturing Heidi's attention. She squinted her eyes and noticed how her granddaughter and Jasper looked to always be enjoying each other's company. She knew Alice had a complicated personality and could be harsh sometimes but Jasper never seemed to mind that. It was refreshing to see her getting along with others.

"I wonder why." She snorted and Jasper ignored the underhanded insult.

"I think something good came out of not hooking up with Peter that night, but instead with moi." He whispered in a fake French accent. Alice rolled her eyes.

"You got laid—"

"We got laid." He corrected in a taunting tone but suddenly stopped when he saw a glint in her eyes. His eyebrows furrowed together and he tilted his head. "I know that look in your eye…what are you thinking?"

"In my perfect world, I'd break them up." She sarcastically breathed heavily. "But she'd cry—and I don't want Bella to cry."

"What a good friend."

"What if we all hung out and I made him uncomfortable by asking a series of questions." Her face became less playful and more determined, but Jasper couldn't help but find it funny.

"For what reason?" The question was rhetorical. "It's not going to change that Bella is going out with him, you're probably just going to piss both parties off." Alice pursed her lips and frowned.

"No fun." She murmured when she heard her mother ask to grab another wine bottle from the kitchen. The staff was low today because it wasn't a huge party and Esme was busy trying to wipe down the table. Alice sighed but quickly walked into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator doors to take out the chilled bottle.

Jasper sauntered behind her and dragged his hands softly up her thighs, caressing her backside until they were firmly placed on her hips. Alice stopped her action and peeked over her shoulder to see Jasper centimeters from her, causing her to smirk.

"You know we can be seen." Although her words were supposed to be cautious, her tone was anything but. Jasper glanced over his shoulder to see the doorway was empty and no sound of footsteps coming near them.

"The coast is clear." The idea of there being a possibility of being caught sent a little thrill down their bodies. In the beginning it was scary but recently, it was like a high. "I like the dress you have on."

"Mm." Alice moaned softly. "I didn't know you were an ass man." She referred to how his hands continuously traveled from her hips to grab her butt cheeks.

"I'm not." He replied. "Just yours looks good in specific things."

"I'll take the compliment as I look good." She corrected with a small chuckle. She leaned her head against his chest while still holding the Pinot Grigio bottle in her hands. She tilted her head up to look at him and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "We need to go before it starts getting suspicious."

"Please, what would they be suspicious about?"

"Maybe that it should take fifteen seconds, not ten minutes to bring back a wine bottle." Alice countered and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine." Jasper slid his arms off of her, cooling her skin almost instantly. She quickly shut the refrigerator doors.

"Miss Alice, your mother is calling you." Esme said in a low tone with a warm smile. She had her hands clasped in front of her and her eyes crinkled at the sides. Alice craned her neck over and nodded.

"Thanks, Esme." She skidded off while Jasper took a second, taking a glimpse at the middle-aged woman. She looked the same but something in her eye seemed off and he wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but the way that she tore eye contact away made him suspicious.

"May I offer you anything, sir?" Although, Esme was not treated as simply an employee to the family, but rather an extended family—she preferred to refer to everyone by 'sir', 'madam', or 'miss.' She wanted to separate a line of respect while she was on duty, working. Jasper shook his head and gave her a smile of his own, to ease his own over-active mind.

"No thanks, Esme. I'm going outside." She nodded, grabbing a white rag off the countertop to wipe off a few crumbs she saw. Jasper didn't linger much longer, instead, he left and saw that Caius had opened the new wine bottle Alice brought. Speaking of the little she-devil, he noticed she was plopped next to his sister, gossiping, while she scratched her faithful companion's head.

"There you are, troublemaker." Heidi surprised Jasper, making him jump and causing her to laugh at his reaction. Her voice grabbed the attention of Charlotte and Alice as well. "I didn't mean to scare you." She sputtered out trying to grab her breath. "I'm heading out in a few minutes—" Heidi finally grabbed her breath, placing her hand on her chest. "However, I wanted to remind you all about my birthday celebration in April."

"Oh." Alice perked up, clasping her hands. "Where are we doing it this year, grandma?"

"I might do it at a hall." She put a finger to her lips. "I'm not sure yet, I'll consult with you and your mother the closer we get to it."

"We're not that far from it." Charlotte commented with a smile and a small clap of her own. "We get to get all dressed up, right?" Heidi nodded.

"Get as best dressed as you can to celebrate this old hag." Jasper gave her a look of disbelief. "That includes you as well, Jasper." She pointed to him and he feigned shock.

"Mama—" He gasped. "I am always at my best around you." He adjusted his tie for emphasis. "Don't you see the suit?" He slid in a sweet grin and she shook her head.

"Smooth talker. You must get all the ladies." Alice snorted and he threw her a 'fuck you' look. "But don't you guys forget."

"We could never." Alice assured her.

"Mom!" Harper called out, making four pair of heads swift around. "Your Uber is here."

"That's my ride." Heidi joked. "I'll see you guys." She pecked Jasper and Charlotte's cheek, but Alice wrapped her grandmother into a tight hug. Heidi felt the warmth from her and kissed her temple. "Be a good girl until the next time." She sashayed out; walking straighter than most women and her Chanel perfume lingering in the air.

"Your grandma is everything." Charlotte sighed happily. "I want to grow and be as classy as her."

"Oh so do I." A ringtone went off and both Jasper and Alice looked at their phones, to see if it was them. Surprisingly, it wasn't either party, but rather Charlotte. Jasper noticed his sister had been texting a lot lately—more than the usual and she had this air of secrecy to her. Alice took note of his mood and as a result of being nosy, looked over and saw that she was texting a guy named Vladimir. "Oh." Alice sang tauntingly and Charlotte clutched her phone close to her, her cheeks flushed from embarrassment. "Who's Vladimir, Char?"

"No one." Her voice cracked and her response was too quick, giving away her petty lie. Alice raised an eyebrow and gave her a 'try again' look. Now as the big brother he was, Jasper was genuinely interested. He crossed his arms and leaned on the balls of his feet.

"Charlotte do you have something to say?" She hid her face behind her hands, her cheeks feeling as though they caught fire.

"Jazz!" She groaned with embarrassment. "Stop."

"Jazz." Alice said, ticking her eyes in his direction. "Let me talk to her."

"I want to know too." He complained and she pursed her lips for a moment.

"Sucks." She answered. "Get out for now." She mouthed to him, careful to check that Charlotte still had her eyes closed. To her she was feeling as though it was the end of the world. She feels as though she was caught in a web of lies. Jasper saw Alice gesture for him to leave with her eyes and cracked his neck.

"Fine." He reluctantly walked away, not looking back at the two girls, because then he'd get more irritated that he left. Alice watched his back disappear before returning back to the tea in front of her.

"Who's this Vladimir, Char?" She coaxed her voice so that it didn't sound so interrogative. "A guy?" She bumped her shoulder and Charlotte nervously giggled.

"He's my boy…" She trailed off in such a whisper that Alice barely caught anything. She scrunched her nose.

"Say that again, I couldn't hear you."

"He's my boyfriend." Charlotte repeated and Alice's jaw dropped to the floor.

"What?" She squealed loudly, startling Luke. Charlotte shushed her, covering her mouth with her hand, and scanning the area to make sure no one saw. Little did she know that Jasper peeked through a corner to see the scene, but he couldn't hear anything. "Seriously?" Her hands slowly slid away from Alice's mouth and she bit her lip. In front of Alice, Charlotte didn't feel ashamed or embarrassed it was just so weird to speak about Vladimir out loud.

"Yeah." She retorted. "His name is Vladimir Petrov. He's in my algebra class."

"I don't know why I'm this shocked." Alice mumbled to herself. "I expected you to say guy you like but I wasn't ready for a boyfriend!" She breathed. "When did you guys start going out?"

"Like two months ago." Alice's eyes bulged out of her skull and Charlotte held back her laughter. "I didn't say anything because I don't want my parents to find out. They'll want to know him immediately and that's kind of a big step. He doesn't want to meet them."

That's a little…weird she thought. No one wants to meet the parents but usually people don't say they don't want to meet them out loud.

"What about your brother?"

"I love Jazz, but he'd be a big mouth." She blew a piece of hair from her face. "Besides, it's weird to sit down and talk to your brother about someone you want to date. It's not the same as talking with a girl."

"Aw." Alice wrapped her arm around Charlotte's shoulders and pressed their heads together. "I'm glad you can talk to me." Charlotte smiled and gripped Alice's hand on her shoulder.

"Just please don't my family, Al." Charlotte turned to pled her friend with puppy eyes that overflowed with anxiety. Alice noticed her anxiousness and settled her fears.

"I'll make sure your parents won't find out." The solemn promise was solid and she'd keep it. She didn't want to imagine how Aro would flip out if he knew.

* * *

Alice was laying down against her stomach, swinging her legs in the air and picking at the ends of her hair. Jasper was propped up, skimming his finger against her slender back, tracing every dip.

"I can't believe she has a boyfriend." He blew out in frustration. Jasper cornered her since early in the morning at school while Alice continuously brushed him off. He invited her over and once she got to his place he coerced it out of her by continuously teasing her and taking her to the brink of pleasure.

"If you say a single thing to her or anyone—including your parents, I'll kill you Jasper Whitlock." She growled, giving him a menacing look. Jasper snorted.

"Like I would."

"She's sixteen, how is this surprising?" She yawned. "I think it's good that she has a boyfriend. She looked so cute talking about him—like a bubbling child."

"But we don't know who he is." She dragged her fingers along her hair and flipped it over.

"You sound just like your dad." Alice pointed out, shutting him completely. "She'll come to you when she's ready. Give her a little space or she won't tell you shit, Jazz." He grumbled incoherently and she rolled her eyes, although a small smile tickled her lips. She found it cute how worried he got about his sister, it made him seem more humanistic.

The silence hung in the air and Alice hummed mindlessly, looking through her phone when a text message came through. Peter had contacted her to see how her day was. She felt a rush of excitement and did a small dance as she hurriedly texted back. Jasper saw how joyous she was and instantly knew who was texting her.

"So, you and Peter are doing well?" He asked, cutting the silence around them. Alice looked up, the smile falling from her face and nodded.

"We've been talking a lot so it makes me happy." As she answered she felt a heavy feeling in her chest. She was almost reluctant to talk about this, which was unlike her. She usually chewed Bella's ear with how much she gushed around Peter.

"Mm." Jasper mused. "He's treating you nice?"

"Of course." She snipped back, sitting up and cocking her head to the side. "Are you worried?"

"I just want to make sure things go well for you guys this time around, unlike at Edward's party." Somehow the response he gave ignited a fire in her throat.

"How's Maria?"

"She's really good. She got her grade back for the project I helped her with and she got an A minus." He buffed his nails against his bare chest and blew on them. "I'm a fucking genius."

"Alright, Mr. Artist." She said sarcastically. "What is it about Maria that you see?" He cracked his fingers and placed his hands behind his head.

"Well she's sweet and kind. She has a shy aura around her that attracts me to her." He shrugged. "And she's beautiful. I heard her speak Spanish the other day and fell in love."

"Really Jazz?" She pressed the sheets tighter against her chest. "I'm Spanish too." He turned his face to her with a humorous look over his face.

"You're like point five percent Spanish, Al." She pouted and stuck her tongue out. Alice's great, great, grandmother on her mother's side was from Spain and Alice bragged that around proudly. "She asked me how I got into arts and all of that." She leaned forward so she was laid up against his shoulder.

"And did you tell her about your skills with the camera?"

"I did." He answered, biting the tip of her nose. She wiggled her nose and scowled.

"Ow."

"She said she didn't like photos." He shrugged. "But most girls say that. And then she asked who or what I shot."

"Did you say it was moi." She mimicked his sauntering from the other day, feeling a great accomplishment that she was one of his regular experimental models. When she was little one of her dreams was to be a model, but that was before she was crushed after learning she wouldn't grow past five feet three inches. That dream went straight to the toilet and she moved onto the next aspiration.

"Imagine if I said that." He leaned his head against the headboard. "That would be some awkward explaining." He trailed off suggestively and Alice made a face.

"It shouldn't be a dirty little secret or anything." She remarked. "She knows we've known each other since we were kids, its not that surprising." She didn't understand why he walked on eggshells with Maria. Sometimes it felt like he wasn't genuine with her and that could get him into problems later on. But like she imagined, that comment went in one ear and out the other. Jasper could be a hard head sometimes and not listen to reason, even though his logic made no rational sense. Her phone went off again, so she turned her attention to Peter's new text, ignoring Jasper who was in his fantasy land right now.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A few days passed and everything went back to normal. Alice and Jasper would have sex and talk mindlessly until she had to go home. Then he'd walk her home to pretend as if nothing happened, and see her later on at night for dinner.

However, today was different. It wasn't the same as always with the same routine as it has been for the past two—almost three months. Jasper was actually very annoyed—no _pissed_ in fact that things were different. On the way to lunch, he met up with Alice and invited her over like every other day. This time, she blew him off because she had finally scored a date with Peter. She had a huge smile on her face and apologized, saying they could hang out the day after, but that didn't take away the fact that Jasper was irritated. He had needs—especially today for some odd reason—and they wouldn't get fulfilled. Guess he had to settle for a traditional afternoon at home with his right hand and PornHub, like before Alice was around to do it for him.

She had left right after lunch to go home and get ready. Peter was going to pick her up after from her place so they could go see a Broadway show and maybe some dinner. Although she was excited, something in her also felt reluctance to go. When she cancelled with Jasper she quickly regretted it, especially after she saw his face. She knew it bothered him and at that moment she wanted to say 'fuck it' and return to his place. Maybe even snuggle here and there. She wasn't as excited as she should be, while contemplating an outfit. She should be overflowing with butterflies and giddiness. She should be dancing around the room and singing in her tone-deaf voice. She _shouldn't_ be worrying about what would happen to Jasper for the day. She slapped both of her hands against her cheeks and took a deep breath.

"Get it together." She chanted to herself. "Peter is coming to get you in one hour."

Back at school, Riley could tell something was ticking Jasper off. He had been tapping his fingers against the cafeteria table and staring off into some abyss. He wasn't present in the conversations nor did he state an opinion in anything—which was unlike him. He did notice Alice wasn't there and when he asked, Jasper shortly said she had a date. He didn't tell him with who, but Riley figured it was Peter, considering Alice was always in love with him and the fact that Peter couldn't hang out today.

Riley noticed that Maria was also eyeballing Jasper every few minutes. Her eyes observed him and she could tell she was analyzing him and staring at him like a girl who liked a guy would. In an instance, she even tilted her head, as if that would have helped. He almost laughed, but he had to remember not to blow his cover. He had noticed that Jasper's little efforts here and there had grabbed the attention of the small Spanish girl. He was almost convinced that she liked him and if she didn't—she at least was aware of him and could grow to like him. He didn't think his friend knew though. In fact, he could bet money he didn't know.

To Riley's surprise—and everyone left at the table—Maria asked to hang out with him over some coffee. Riley and Bella immediately thought of it as a date, but it went right over Jasper's head. He agreed and walked her to class, trying to wane down his irritation.

"Can you believe she asked him to hang out?" Riley said with shock coaxing his voice. Bella sighed and shook her head. "You look unhappy."

"I guess I am in a way."

"Shouldn't you be happy that your friend is taking interest in someone?" Riley didn't think of Bella as a selfish person, so he couldn't fathom her plain reaction.

"It's not that I'm not happy for her." Bella explained, crossing her arms. "I just don't know if them getting together is right."

"Why? Jazz is a good guy." Riley pressed. "Because of Alice?" Bella's head snapped up to look at him only to see that he said that confidently. He didn't even bat a lash.

"You know about them." She wasn't asking him, because she confirmed with his statement that he knew. "Then yes."

"But they don't like each other." Riley continued, making a left towards Bella's class. Bella made a face before sighing.

"Somehow I don't buy that." Bella grumbled to herself, but Riley overheard her. "Don't you think it's strange that they _like_ other people and want to pursue them _while_ being sexually active with each other?"

"People have sex with no strings attached all the time. I call it high school."

"Yeah but they're too involved in each other's lives." She argued. "They see each other just about every single day at school, at his place and at her place for dinner." _So, his place is where they do it,_ Riley thought. _Have to make sure to not sit on his sheets._ "Something is bound to happen."

"But it seems like its working out for them."

"For now." Bella insisted. "I don't know, but this can get messy really quick. If people find out they can get upset."

"Are you suggesting that one way or the other they can develop feelings for each other." Bella didn't say anything, she just pressed her lips tightly until they became a thin line. That was a loud enough answer for him. "I guess you're right…You end up liking people because you get to know them."

"I have a bad feeling… I just don't want them to get hurt. Neither Alice, Jasper, Maria or Peter." She really was just a concerned friend and seeing that quality in her made Riley respect Bella more. She might be quiet and a push over with Edward but you could see she truly cared about her friends.

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Maria met up with Jasper and they walked to a nearby Starbucks. She ordered a traditional caramel Frappuccino and he ordered a Peach Tranquility tea. The coldness was starting to wither away now that they were in the middle of March. The snow had melted and the air wasn't so brisk, it was even getting darker out later.

They sat in front of each other, with the low humming of the music playing in the background. Jasper sipped on his tea and Maria envisioned him like a professional. He needed a suit and it was a picture-perfect scene of him sipping tea while in the office overviewing his company. That might've just been her mind fantasizing crazily though. She held her drink with both hands, risking her fingers getting hypothermia. It helped with the nerves though. She couldn't believe she asked him to hang out for something that wasn't school-related and now that he was here she didn't know what to say.

"Are you okay?" She finally spit out and Jasper looked up at her from his tea.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" She slid the drink on the table and shrugged.

"You look like something's bothering you." He wasn't about to tell her it's because his best friend duped him for a date with another guy so now he's sexless for the day. He didn't realize it was that obvious and that it was affecting him so much. His eyes took in the surroundings and as if his brain just registered where he was, _with_ who he was, he felt the small simmering of nerves creep up on him.

"Sorry, I didn't realize my face was looking stupid." He cracked a lame joke that was anything but funny, yet Maria giggled at it. "It's just one of those off days." He lied so easily when it came to Maria and he didn't bother saying the truth right now because she bought it. "You like sweets?" He asked, jutting his chin to her drink and she nodded.

"I have a sweet tooth, which is unfortunate." He leaned his cheek against his hand.

"Why do you say unfortunate?"

"Diabetes is something that runs in my family and I have a sweet tooth." She stated as if it were obvious. "It's only a matter of time before I get it too."

"Nah." He countered casually. "You can't think that negatively. I'm sure you'll be fine and be the lucky person it skips."

"Wishful thinking." She said dreamily when her eye caught a glimpse of his tattoo again. "I've wanted to ask, what is that tattoo?" Jasper turned his arm and revealed it to her.

"It's a compass." He answered, running his fingers over it. "I just got it shaded a few weeks ago so its finishing its healing process."

"Did…it hurt?" She wondered with a tilt of her head. She reminded him of a confused kitten—it made him smile.

"Yes." She shivered.

"I couldn't imagine getting one. Needles and pain are not my forte." She was against someone having them, she just didn't understand the hype either. They were beautiful works of art, however. Jasper leaned his cheek against his hand again and took another sip of his tea.

"Its not that bad." He retorted. "It's tolerable. It can be soothing sometimes. The feeling of the machine and the sound can put you in a trance. The shading is what hurts like a bitch. At least for me." He realized he cursed and quickly corrected himself. "Excuse my French."

"So, you only have one?" She wondered, not even paying notice to his cussing.

"For now." He answered. "I want to get a whole sleeve though." He continued, tracing his arm with random doodles as if Maria could see what he was talking about. "I'm slowly working my way up there. I just can't do it all at once."

"The pain?"

"And the price." Jasper may come from money but it would be a not-so-pleasant conversation to have with his parents when they realized that he spent so much on just body art.

"What else are you going to get?"

"I love themes such as astrology and travel so I want to incorporate it into the sleeve somehow."

"Sleeves have themes, then?" She hadn't really seen one in real life, just in movies so she didn't know what went on with that.

"They can. People usually try to make everything flow, but I've seen some that have no cohesion and still look beautiful." They fell into deeper conversation, slowly opening up more with one another and feeling more at ease.

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Alice, on the other hand, was bubbling with so much joy. Peter had bought tickets to see Aladdin, meaning he paid attention to their conversation. He found it humorous and charming to see a grown girl laugh along and sing with all the songs. She even swayed from side to side and frowned when the plot became more serious and intense. Once it finished, Peter led the way out, guiding her by placing his hand on the small of her back. She blushed profusely. It almost felt as though it wasn't real. This was only a conversation and a dream of being on a date but somehow it became reality.

 _I want to say 'pinch me, I'm dreaming' but if it is a dream, I don't want to fuck it up._ She thought.

They went to restaurant Blue Fin, which was recommended to Peter by his own mother. He was a total mama's boy and when she found out about his date plans she gave him a list of different dinner options. He liked seafood and he knew, from talking to Edward—who talked to his girlfriend, that she liked seafood too.

Alice ordered the pricy sushi rolls and waited patiently, sipping on her glass of water. Unfortunately, the establishment wouldn't serve them any wine because they were underage. There were some things money couldn't get over.

"Did you enjoy the show?" Peter asked her and she quickly nodded.

"Yes! It was worth all the wait." She gushed. "Thank you for taking me." She said sincerely. "I know it was pricey, especially for a first date." To him, she looked adorable, almost shy. It was a rare sight. He smiled and reached over to place his hand over hers—making her jump.

"Your reaction was worth it, so don't worry." He pulled back and grabbed his glass. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." Their food was done quicker than expected and Alice took no time to grab a piece of spicy tuna and pop it into her mouth. Peter found the way she chewed and savored the food to be quite amusing and also enticing. She ate as if she were trying to seduce the food in her mouth.

"This is delicious." She moaned over her food.

"Really?" He questioned and she nodded.

"Want to try." Alice picked up a roll, neatly with her chopsticks, and presented to a semi-shocked Peter. Alice's expression was innocent as she held up the roll to his mouth.

 _She's so cute_ , his mind thought carelessly as he leaned in closer and opened his mouth. Alice placed the piece of sushi in his mouth, careful to not drop a single grain of rice or a drop of soy sauce. She watched Peter close his mouth and moved his lips to chew the food that she put in his mouth. Of course, it was delicious, but he couldn't concentrate on the food's taste right now, but rather her reaction. Her eyes were foggy and he could see how her lips were parted.

"It was good." He commented with a gruff voice, wiping at his lip. "So tell me how's school going?"

"Bleh." She responded making him laugh. She reminded him of a toddler describing something they don't like. "It drags." She continued. "We have finals soon too."

"But at least you're a senior next year." He consoled and she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "You're getting old." He poked and she fake gasped.

"Am not!" She retorted. "You're older than me so what does that make you."

"I've heard somewhere that women are mentally four years older than men, so I guess I'm younger than you."

"You can't just apply logic where you feel like it." She threw back, laughing at their own little jokes.

"I have a question that I hope doesn't offend you." Peter piped in and Alice suddenly got worried. _What could he ask that he'd say that?_ "How come you don't go to private school?" Her worries instantly vanished and she felt the blood rush to her fingertips again. "You and Jasper have money so its definitely one of the first time I've heard of wanting to willingly go to a public school."

"Well, I really did it because I wanted to be close with Bella." Alice shrugged. "To me it doesn't matter if its public or private they teach me essentially the same crap."

"But Rosalie is your good friend too and she goes to private?"

"Yeah but Rosalie goes to a private school for the arts—I didn't want that. I see Rose every other week too."

"And Jasper?" The name of her friend brought a shiver to her body. "I think I heard his sister goes to private."

"We've been close since we were in diapers so when I decided to go to public school his mom told him to come with me. He didn't mind because he didn't have to wear a uniform." The thought of Jasper being in a uniform made her want to laugh. She knew he would be grumpy and sour about it the whole time he wore. He'd complain that his collar was too tight and that his tie was choking him.

"That's sweet that you'd go with Bella. She's a good girl." Peter said mindlessly, taking a sip of his own water. "She's said really good things about you since I've known her."

"Aw I love her." Alice cooed. "You've known her for a while, right?"

"Since she's gone out with Edward. I remember when he brought her to hang out with us for the first time. She was so shy that she hardly spoke but you could tell that Edward liked her." He smiled at the memory. "He was all over her, hugging her—holding her hand—making her smile. The whole deal." Alice swallowed her comment so she didn't come across nasty and sour the mood. After all, Edward was his friend.

"Yeah they've been together for a while…" She trailed off, perking up when she found the perfect moment to be nosy. "They haven't hung out for awhile though. Edward _must_ be busy." Peter didn't pick up on the slick way she sarcastically said the word 'must.' Instead, he fixed himself in his seat and nodded.

"I know he's had some exams. Maybe that's it, but I saw him the other day and he was fine. In fact, he told me he was going to see Bella so he left early." Alice's eyebrows rose and her tongue ticked behind her lips.

 _Something doesn't add up here. She was with me all week complaining how he said he was busy with his friends and helping his mom._

"Maybe she didn't tell me." She faked laughed and plastered a smile. "What can you do when people are in love." She sighed dramatically.

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Jasper laid in his bed, the blankets cool beneath his warm skin. He closed his eyes and grinned stupidly at the ceiling. He replayed the moments from before over and over. He saw how he walked Maria to her place as they just laughed and talked. When they arrived, he could see a hesitation in her eyes but before he could say anything, she jumped up on her toes and pecked his cheek in goodbye. She threw him a full-tooth grin and waved at him while he stood immobile, holding onto his cheek. He felt like a teen girl that was love-struck. It was almost an uncomfortably happy sensation that ran through his blood. The loud shrill of his phone broke him from his meditation and he groaned, frowning. Without glancing at the name, he picked up the phone and put it to his ear.

"Hello?" His voice came across short and curt.

"Well hello to you too, what's with that voice?" Alice's voice flooded the receiver and his mood softened.

"I was getting ready to nap."

"It's almost five-thirty." Her voice stated the obvious but he ignored her and yawned.

"What have you called me for? Usually that means you have something to tell me or you want something."

"Harsh." She countered, but sucked it up. "I know we've been talking about this a lot but on my date with Peter he told me that Edward's supposedly been hanging out with Bella. However, I know for a fact that's not true." Jasper cocked an eyebrow and laid on his side.

"Why do you know that."

"Because Bella's been with me and she's told me they haven't hung out in the longest. He's always shedding some petty excuse."

"He's lying to her." He said definitively. "But there's no legit proof for that."

"I know and I doubt Peter would sell his friend if put on the spot." Alice bit the tip of her nail while clutching the phone near her ear. "Something has to pop up."

"We'll find something." Jasper concluded and Alice noticed the _'we'll'_ in that sentence. That meant he would help and she felt that much more excited.

"You're helping?"

"You can't do things on your own." He chuckled and she smiled.

"I know I can always count on you, Jazz." Warmth emanated through the phone and Jasper felt a tingly sensation in his stomach. It made him feel uncomfortable so he shook it off and turned it to a topic him and Alice were more familiar with.

"Reward me." He said and she could hear the lust dripping from his words.

"What would you like?" Her voice was now silk and only caressed his skin and emphasized his issues more.

"I know I'd like to put you against my wall right now." _So we're going to have phone sex._ Alice mused to herself, battling with the disappointment and excitement that raged within her.

"I'd probably grab you and moan into your ear to go in deeper." She retaliated, selecting to divulge herself in pleasure rather than worries. Jasper turned on like a light switch and could almost hear the recording of her moans in his own ear. Like with everything—she was good.

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Over the next few days Alice had noticed a shift in Jasper's attitude. He wasn't all really there—but rather he was attached to his phone like glue to paper. His entire attention was dedicated to it, even when she spoke to him—or rather _tried_ to speak to him. It was getting on her last nerve, even at dinner they'd hardly talk about anything.

Ever since the day they had phone sex, something shifted. It wasn't like he was mean—he was just somewhere else, rather than with her. Like right now, Alice had finished dinner, talking to no one because Charlotte was with her boyfriend somewhere and Jasper was on his phone. Her leg was bouncing furiously under the table, a gesture that Aro took note of, but remained silent with.

"Oh Alice." Harper called out, capturing her daughter's attention. "Your grandmother's birthday is in two weeks, we picked out the venue."

"Where's it going to be?"

"The Lotte. We're going to have the champagne suite."

"That's beautiful."

"And fancy." Caius jumped in with a grin. "So honey, please buy a dress this weekend. Does that sound good?" Alice nodded. "Your mother will go with you. I would volunteer but you'd kick me out." He chuckled to himself. When Alice turned to talk to Jasper about it, she found him smiling at his phone. She could literally feel the steam coming out of her ears. She'd had enough.

"Who are you texting so much?" She hissed and he finally realized she was talking to him.

"Maria." He answered and she ground her teeth. _Is he fucking serious? He's hanging out with me right now._ "We've been hanging out and talking. We've made progress." He gave a cheesy smile. Alice growled but bit her tongue.

"When have you guys been hanging out?"

"The day you went out with Peter." He murmured, texting something quickly in response to Maria. "And we hang out in school. I walk her to classes." His words left a bitter taste in her mouth and an itch she couldn't scratch.

"Whispering at the table is bad manners." Amber called out to her son and he gave her an apologetic look.

"Sorry." He mumbled and Alice clasped her hands, apologizing herself.

"Sorry, aunt Amber."

Alice hadn't been as upset as she was right now in a long time. The rest of the evening went on like that, until they all left. Jasper didn't even try to touch her this time around which was unlike him. She was venting to Luke on their last walk of the night.

"What's wrong with him, Luke?" She fumed into the night, as he lifted his leg and did his business. "All he's been thinking about is Maria lately. He doesn't give a damn that I speak to him or I'm even around him." Her faithful companion had no idea what she was even saying, all he knew is he could sense the uneasiness about her. It radiated off of her like waves.

"He's making her his priority and I don't like that." She mumbled loud enough for a bystander to hear. He gave her a weird face when he heard her talking to herself, but she didn't even see him. "Is it weird that I'm getting so worked up?" If Luke had a mouth he'd probably say yes—in fact any normal person would say yes. "He's still my best friend." She said confidently. "So he'll come when I ask him to. I'm still above Maria, right?" A small whine was the dog's response. She tugged his leash and they walked side by side back towards her place. "I'll show you, Luke. Jasper will do what I want him to, even if Maria is involved."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Alice merely watched quietly from her seat the way everyone interacted. More specifically, the way Maria and Jasper interacted. She didn't miss how she laughed at everything he said—even the pathetic attempts of jokes he would say. The smiles they exchanged and the more personal interaction they had then ever before.

Bella also observed the same as Alice, only she also watched her best friend. She looked like a hawk stalking her prey, but at the same time she also texted whenever Peter messaged her. She didn't understand her. She was finally getting the attention from the guy she initially wanted and now her attention is divided between him and Jasper. She could feel the unsettlement stir in her stomach.

"Oh, you spilled water on yourself." Maria said, grabbing her napkin and dabbing the wet spots on Jasper's shirt. Jasper felt like a toddler and a middle schooler all in one having her so close to him. Unfortunately, Alice didn't share his enthusiasm. She was steaming with anger—she could feel her blood boiling. To her, she thought they looked stupid—like a mother taking care of her messy child.

Her fingers acted on impulse and she quickly sent him a text message, knowing he would get it since his phone was in his hand. As she expected, his phone went off and he quickly looked at it, seeing it was Alice. He made a face and opened the message to be met with an unusual request from her end.

 _'Walk me to class today.'_ He glanced up and saw that her eyes were expectant with her arms crossed across her chest and she had a cool demeanor that exuded sexiness. He didn't know what about her caused a shift in him. He knew he walked Maria to class, but one day wouldn't make a difference, he'd make a lame excuse like he had to hand something in to class.

 _'Okay.'_ His fingers moved like lightening across the screen keyboard and Alice felt a feeling of victory in her. Her mood became elated and she suddenly smiled broadly with her teeth.

"Time for class." Riley stretched his arms over his head and sighed. Maria stood up, gathering her books and holding it to her chest, waiting for the blonde kid next to her.

"Oh, I have to hand in something to my teacher today, Maria." The attempt of a lie was weak and lame, everyone knew that and recognized it, but somehow Maria didn't. "I can't walk you today." She deflated but tried to smile.

"It's okay, I'll see you next week then." Bella shuffled beside her and they made their way out to class. It had been a while since the two girls had walked to class together. It had been Maria and Jasper for the last few weeks—Maria took it as time to catch up. Riley was called over by one of his friends and Jasper met up with Alice outside the cafeteria.

She had her arms crossed across her chest and an impatient look in her eye. He noticed she was extremely casual with a cream silk blouse, tight skinny jeans and black flats. He also saw the way a few guys craned their necks to look at her. She always stood out—whether it be her attitude or her fashion Alice was always being stared at. He pursed his lips but otherwise didn't make a comment. The two of them started walking side by side, not a single word crossed between them. She was walking faster than usual, which made him take longer strides to catch up.

"Wait up." He called. "You wanted to walk but you're leaving me back." An acquaintance from class waved at him and he waved back. That's when he noticed that they weren't going the way to either of their classrooms. "Al, what's up?"

Alice's head snapped from side to side to scan the clear area. She then gripped his arm and shoved him into the opening between the lockers and wall that had just enough space for them. He stumbled back, his back hitting the wall, and he groaned. Alice collapsed into his chest, pressing her slender frame against his broader one. She fisted her hands in his shirt and pulled herself up, until her toes barely touched the ground, and crashed their lips against one another. Jasper's eyes widened in surprise at her actions but she didn't lighten up; she continued to press further, sliding her hands up his chest until they were on his face. Where her hands slid made him shiver and his body couldn't go against what he felt. He was ignited and he put his hands on her hips, pressing them against his pelvis. She moaned against him and he could hear the vibrations in his ears—all remembrance that they were in school grounds went out the window.

When Alice's breath couldn't hold up anymore, she pulled back with just enough space that his lips brushed the top of her head. They were both panting with evident lust emanating off of them. Her hands slid to his shoulders but his remained firmly planted on her hips.

"What was…that for?" He struggled to catch his breath and she swallowed. _What was this for anyways? Shouldn't she be thinking of her second date with Peter?_

"Jazz—" Her breathy voice rasped before taking a small break. "Fuck me." She said in simple vulgar terminology. His eyes almost fell out of his skull and his jaw fell open.

"Wha—" He butchered.

"Let's go to your place after school and have sex." When she looked up at him from below her lashes he held his breath. It was a new expression of something he couldn't describe on Alice. It made his lower area twitch. "Don't you want to?" Deep in his subconscious, a voice told him to not go. It told him to stay put and shake Alice off, while another voice in his mind reminded him about Maria. "I want to." That's not the outcome of this situation, however, because Jasper went with the third option. His instinct. It told him to go and fuck her senseless so he could satisfy his own needs and hers.

"Let's skip eighth." He mumbled and she perked up, jumping up and kissing him—again catching him off guard. It was a sweet gesture, which is something they didn't do. Their kisses led to sex, there wasn't any sort of kissing that happened between them that didn't tie to the libido.

"I'll meet you at the front gate." She quickly scuffled off, the sounds of her heels were the only thing that validated what just transcribed between them. He leaned his head against the wall and took a deep breath.

 _Something's different about her._

In that moment, a loud slap against the wall startled him and made him jump. He looked up and saw a dean looking at him with an expectant stare.

"Whitlock." He clipped. "What are you doing here?" The one thing Jasper hated about public school was the amount of security that chewed your head off if you weren't in class.

"Trying to skip." He answered coolly, irritating the dean.

"Just get out of here and get to class." He sneered. "Writing you down for the same thing gets boring after a while." He took that as his cue to go and made it to his next class.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

When they got to his place, Jasper somehow ended up sitting on the couch with Alice crawled on top of him, kissing him with an ardor that made him mad. He growled against her lips and she giggled, throwing his shirt to the floor. He pulled back, noticing that she was still fully clothed and that the living room was a dangerous area to perform anything.

In one solid motion, he stood up, taking her with him and making her squeal. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and flailed at the motion. He sauntered to his bedroom, thankful that he could pick her up and walk the distance with her. In his room, she grabbed his face in between her hands and kissed him—hard. Her hair fell over his face while his neck craned up to meet her lips. His hands were under her thighs but started to roam over to her ass, slapping it slightly.

She groaned, grinding her body against him and making him harder than he had been all day. He threw her on the bed, causing her to gasp. He gave her no time because he crawled over her, until he hovered over her and pressed his lips onto hers. His hands went quickly to remove her clothes until she was only in her bra. With her jeans—he took his time unzipping to tease her until she mewled for him to hurry up. The sound was music to his ears and he slid them off, pressing his lips against the inside of her thighs. She threw her head back and groaned in pleasure.

"Oh my god, more." She moaned, riding her body against him. He breathed over her panties and her breathing stopped. He slowly removed her underwear until she was in her naked entirety—a fact she didn't feel the least bit ashamed over. His tongue pressed against her and in moments she was singing in ecstasy. Her hands gripped his hair and she grounded her hips for more feeling. "Oh baby, yes, right there." She cried and he felt himself throb with every word she spit out.

He pulled away, the warmth of his tongue the immediate missing factor. When she looked down in her pleasure-driven state she saw him roll on a condom. In a single motion he slid into her with a hard force that both of them groaned in synch. She didn't know how Jasper did it but every time he moved he hit her spot that made her ecstasy climb higher and higher.

He thrusted into her, gripping her legs for support. His moans were low and raspy—edging her forward. She loved hearing his voice of enjoyment.

"Fuck, Al, you feel—" _Thrust_ "—fucking—" _Thrust_ "—amazing—" He would have sex with her forever if it felt like this is what he thought. When he looked at her, he saw her eyes roll back and her fingers grip the sheets with all her might. When he moved, he felt her walls start to clench up and he knew she was about to climax.

"Don't stop." She begged. "Don't stop." He pushed forward, feeling everything start rushing to one area as well.

"Mm." He thrusted harder, the sound of skin slapping against skin being heard. Alice was panting and felt herself at the highest she could be before convulsing with a drawn-out cry of pleasure. Jasper followed through, pounding into her and spilling his own ecstasy into the condom.

The both of them laid next to one another, breathing heavily. Alice was in a post-coital moment—she felt sated and happy. This wasn't the most intense sex they'd have but it had been definitely worth it. She hadn't remembered when was the last time Jasper ate her out was—but she could definitely rate him high on a scale of one to ten.

After a few minutes, they started talking here and there again. She was wrapped up with a smile and Jasper was laughing at a few things she was saying. To a third party—they probably looked like an adorable teenage couple.

"Have you picked out your outfit for your grandmas?" Jasper questioned and she nodded.

"Yep, its gorgeous. It's a beige color with flowered sequin embroidery and a plunging neckline."

"Well that's different for you." He referred to the plunging neckline portion and Alice knew that. She was somewhat self-conscious that she had no breasts, so wearing a low neckline was never an option for her. However, she felt more adventurous lately and she loved the dress so she'd take one for the team and bite the bullet. "I can't wait to see it on and off." He grinned wickedly, wagging his eyebrows and she laughed, playfully shoving his shoulder. "You know things are going great with Maria." He mentioned and her smile fell. "We're just clicking—"

Alice felt a spark of anger ignite in her and she realized she was grinding her teeth. Jasper looked satisfied as he talked about Maria, but Alice didn't even hear what he was saying—not a single word—over her own poisonous thoughts. She felt the urge to break glass and scream at the top of her lungs.

"Can you not talk about a girl right after you fuck me?" She cut in like a knife during his mid-venting session. Her voice was so harsh that even Jasper was shocked by it. He took note that her jaw was taut and that her nostrils were slightly flared. Her eyebrows were pushed together and creases appeared in the middle of her forehead.

"Why are you mad?"

"I'm not mad." Alice spat back without thinking. Clearly her response was a contradiction to her words and he knew that.

"Then why are you getting all—"

"Because I don't want to hear about another woman after we've had sex. Is that hard to understand?" The sarcasm rolled off the tip of her tongue and the bite of it was getting under Jasper's skin. She acted as though he was doing something wrong and he didn't appreciate her reaction.

"This is something we always do." He stressed, trying hard to keep his composure. "May I remind you that you talk about Peter too."

"When you ask me." She quipped. "I don't rub him in your face twenty-four-seven."

"You mean not anymore because you wouldn't shut up about him in the beginning." He could feel his patience wearing thin. "Where the hell is this coming from."

"All you ever do is talk about Maria!" Alice yelled, sitting up and holding the sheets against her chest so it wouldn't fall down and expose her naked torso. "I try to talk to you and you ignore me, I try to tell you a story but you're so involved texting her—" he frowned. "And every moment you switch the topic to her! What about me?" She banged her hand against her chest and his eyebrows knitted together.

"What do you mean what about you?"

"You've forgotten about me. Your mind is too consumed with Maria that you don't even want to talk _to_ me about things anymore you just want to update me on your situation."

"I thought that was our agreement from the beginning." He said cautiously, feeling more uneasy than he was. Something was missing from the equation and he didn't like what he was seeing. "Alice, you know I don't like you. I like Maria."

The words hit Alice like a slap in the face, making her anger dissipate instantly. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing would come out. Unconsciously, her fingertips felt made their way to her face, where she felt something wet on her cheeks. That's when she realized she was crying. Jasper's eyes widened and he felt the blood drain from his body when a sob broke through her. She covered her mouth with her hand and jumped off of his bed, gathering her clothes from the ground.

"Alice…" Jasper tried finding his voice. "Al…" His voice was barely above a whisper as he tried to use her nickname to soothe the situation. "Alice…." She ran out without putting on her shoes. "Alice!" It was to no avail because she was gone and the room was empty and extremely quiet. Jasper stared at the door she ran out from and felt a dawning realization in him. "She can't like me…" Her jealousy was evident when he put that statement into context.

 _She's crying._ He knew he should go after her and make sure she's alright, especially because Alice doesn't cry that easily. However, his body wouldn't let him move, he sunk into his bed and pressed the bottom of his palm against his eyes. He had a bad feeling spread across his stomach.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

She wasn't sure how she got home after she left Jasper's place. It all felt like a whirlwind to her—something that passed by so fast she couldn't recall. She didn't remember when she put on her shoes, or how funny everybody looked at her. All she did remember and still felt was the pain of a knife plunged into her chest.

Her sobbing didn't stop when she made her way up her place and it surprised the doorman to the point that he did a double take. Her shuffled footsteps alerted Esme who was unpacking the groceries she had bought for dinner that night. She heard sniffling when she got closer to the threshold and quickened her pace to catch a glimpse of Alice's blotchy face. She blinked—shocked but couldn't see more because she disappeared towards her room.

Luke woke up to Alice's steps, wagging his tail, but the moment he saw her he felt something wrong. His tail drooped and he took careful steps towards her. She skidded past him and threw herself against her bed, hugging her pillow tightly with one arm and wrapping her other arm around her stomach. It's almost as if she wished the action would solve her pain. The echoes of her cries rang in Luke's ears, making the air of the room feel heavier than usual. He pattered over and nudged her hand with his nose.

She opened her eye and saw his worried expression looking at her in wonder. It only made her cry harder and bury her face into the silk sheets.

 _Why was she like this? Why did him telling her that he liked Maria—not her—which she already knew beforehand—affect her so much?_

"Stupid asshole!" She screamed into her pillow to release the rage she felt within her. She didn't feel better but she felt a tight pressure release from her lungs. "Why! Why! Why!" She banged her fist against the mattress and felt a new wave of anger. There was a knock on the door, causing her breathing to stop.

 _Jasper?_ She thought immediately, sitting up and looking towards her door.

"Who is it?" Her voice cracked.

"It's Esme, Miss Alice." Her heart deflated and she bit her lip to avoid screaming out her disappointment. She wasn't mad it was Esme behind the door – she was disappointed it wasn't Jasper.

"Come in." She murmured softly. Esme got her permission and walked in with a tray of porcelain tea cups and a matching porcelain bowl. To her amazement, the young girl was crying as if she were in excruciating pain. Her make up was running down her face leaving black tracks where the tears felt. Her nose was similar to that of Rudolph the red nose reindeer's and her hair was stuck to parts of her face. However, she didn't dwell on it so she didn't make Alice feel self-conscious.

"I brought some rose milk tea and some cut up mangoes." Esme said in a warm voice and she noticed Alice's bottom lip tremble as if she said something wrong. She quickly put down the tray and scooted over to sit beside the crying girl. She had a soft spot for Alice, considering she watched her grow up since she was in her mother's womb. Alice reminded her of her son, because she was strong willed but incredibly kind and loyal to those he cared about. She was like her daughter while she was at work. She held a lot of affection for her and vice versa. "What's wrong?"

Alice opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out. She felt like a fish out of water just flapping around. She merely shook her head and screwed her eyes shut. She didn't feel ashamed that she was crying in front of Esme because she wouldn't press her to know every detail of why she was crying—she would just comfort her. On top of that, Esme wouldn't mention this to her parents which were the people who would pry and most likely judge and kill her if they knew everything.

"I think I might be PMSing." She excused lamely not convincing even the dog who whimpered by her feet. Esme couldn't even entertain the lame attempt of a lie, so she just gave a small smile.

"I think something is troubling you, am I right?" Alice chewed on the inside of her cheek and said nothing. However, her demeanor gave her away letting Esme know she was spot on. "If I had to guess a young girl like you can only be this upset because of troubles with love or troubles with friends."

"I'm just confused."

"Why?" Esme tilted her head. Before Alice opened her mouth, she licked her lips and gathered her thoughts together to form a cohesive sentence.

"Have you ever been upset that someone didn't live up to your expectations?"

"Yes." Esme answered solemnly with a firm nod. "You encounter a lot of that as you grow up. If I had to say the biggest disappointment I've had with someone, then that would be my marriage to my ex-husband." Alice wiped at her eyes and turned her body to face Esme, now curious to hear the rest of her story. She knew Esme was divorced, but she never talked about it and everyone respected her enough to not pry. "I loved him madly and when we got married we promised to be each other's everything.

"And in the very beginning it was _exactly_ like that." Esme emphasized. "He paid attention to me as if I was some hidden treasure he had found. Anything I wanted, he made happen."

"So, he loved you and prioritized you?" Esme nodded a sad smile spreading across her lips.

"He did. Even when I was pregnant I was a crystal he had to take care of." She brushed her fingers across the soft silk. "That ended as fast as it came. Suddenly, he wasn't my best friend anymore and I wasn't his priority—" Alice could feel the bitterness in Esme's voice and somehow she related to it. "He became engrossed with everything else—even when I talked to him he'd barely acknowledge me—" _I know what that's like,_ Alice thought, remembering how Jasper's attention was fully enveloped by Maria. "I was a new mom, trying to make something work and by the time I confronted him about it, he'd told me our love had withered." A stab in Alice's chest mad her frown and fist her hands. She took a moment before being able to ask her next question.

"What did you do when you realized you weren't first anymore?" Something in the way the girl said the words made her think as if the answer was really important and personal for her. Esme suddenly felt as though her answer mattered more than she thought.

"I cried." She replied, surprising Alice. "I allowed myself to mourn what I had lost. Something that I always thought would be there—no matter what. But just because I cried it doesn't mean that that's the only thing I did." She took a deep breath. "I got time to myself and focused on more important things—work." She bobbed her heads towards Alice. "And my son—Eleazor." Alice noticed that the aura seemed to have lightened up and the story had a light at the end. "I removed myself from his life and only interacted if necessary. Before I knew it, my heart was dedicated to my son and to your family."

"I would have never guessed. I'm sorry I made you talk about it."

"No, I chose to speak about it." She retorted. "I hope it helps."

"What do you mean?"

"I have a feeling its matters of the heart, but that's just my guess." She poked Alice's nose. "So cry. Let it out and then let your heart resolve itself." As if on command, Alice's eyes watered until they poured down her cheeks. She threw her arms around Esme and she quickly hugged the young girl back, combing her fingers through her hair as Alice cried into her shoulder.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Alice cried even harder when Esme eventually left her room. Her dog curled up beside her until she fell asleep and only moved when Alice's mother returned home and walked into her daughter's room. Esme warned her that Alice wasn't feeling good and had fallen asleep after drinking some tea. Harper saw Alice with her back facing her door, curled into herself. Her eyes were screwed shut as if she were in pain and her lips were turned downward. Worried for her daughter, she had lightly pressed her hand against her cheek to feel the warmth that radiated off of it. Alice unconsciously squirmed and Harper felt a feeling in her gut that she shouldn't wake up her daughter. Therefore, she cancelled dinner at the Whitlock's to stay around Alice and let her rest.

Alice woke up the next day after passing out early. Her throat was so dry it hurt to try to swallow. Her head was pounding and it felt as though it weighed a hundred pounds. Her eyes hurt to open all the way and her face felt sticky from the dried-up tears. Luke jumped up and wagged his tail happily, nudging her arm to asses her mood today. Alice smiled and rubbed his head, while gripping the side of her head with her other hand. She was scared to even see what she looked like in the mirror. She surely looked like shit because she definitely felt it. The sun was beaming inside her room, not helping her headache, and out of curiosity she grabbed her phone which was placed neatly on her night table. The time read ten-forty in the morning. Her eyes widened and she tumbled out of bed, nearly falling in the process.

"Shit I'm late!" She hissed to no one in particular. Her alarm never went off and she was surprised no one woke her up. She quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a turtle neck shirt, pulling a brush through her hair. Her make up wasn't as usual as she would have liked, just enough to emphasize some of her features, but she couldn't complain now. She ran out of her room, with Luke following her at the same speed—probably thinking it was a game of tag. Her eyes caught movement in the living room and she skidded to a stop to see Harper sitting on the living room chaise with a cup of steaming earl tea in her hand. "Mom?" Alice called out, surprise coaxed in her voice. At the sound of her daughter's voice, she peeked up from the book she was reading. Alice hadn't seen her mother home this late in the morning since she was eight and she had the flu. Harper worked early in the morning and was usually out of the house, alongside her husband, before Alice was ready to go to school.

"Alice." She said calmly. "Good morning, how are you feeling today?"

"Good?" Her voice was cautious, but her mom ignored her. "Why are you here, mom?" Harper crossed her leg at her knee, sitting up tall and releasing an aura of coolness around her. She blew the steam from the surface of her tea and raised an eyebrow.

"Esme told me you weren't feeling well." She answered. "When I checked on you last night you felt warm, so I decided to stay home with you last night to make sure you were okay. I'm working from home today as well in case you felt worse." No matter how her mom tried to say something it almost always came out in an aloof manner. However, Alice knew the words were caring and she appreciated that. The fact that her mom would still stay home when she wasn't feeling well meant a lot to her. "Where are you going?" She asked, eyeing her daughter's ensemble. She didn't look like a sick person who laid in bed. Luke walked over to Harper and plopped on the spot beside her, taking up eighty percent of the couch.

"School." Alice replied. "I already missed third period."

"Then stay home." Her mother shrugged, letting her fingers rake through Luke's fur.

"I can't." Alice said too quickly, making her mother give her a funky look. "I have a quiz today and I can't miss it. It'll affect my grade." Harper hummed in appreciation as she sipped on her tea. Although, her mom seemed to have bought it, she didn't want to explain that the real reason for going to school was so Jasper wouldn't think of her as overdramatic after what happened the day before.

"I get it. What period is that?"

"Last." Harper knew Alice took school work seriously and that she wouldn't skip school. Besides, as long as she wasn't fainting she couldn't hold her back if she wanted to go. She nodded and jutted her chin towards the door.

"Okay, then I'll see you when you come back. We have dinner at the Whitlock's tonight."

"I can't go." Again, her mouth was shooting at ten miles per minute. _Damn._ Harper frowned and swallowed the Earl tea before opening her mouth to interrogate her daughter.

"Why not?" There was distaste in her tone from what Alice heard. "We missed dinner last night so they rescheduled for tonight."

"Mom, I have a new project I'm working on for the next few weeks." It was partly true. There was a project but it was a small report that could be finished in a week—two weeks tops. "It's an end of semester project and its taking the place of my final. I need to meet with my teammates for the next few weeks. I can't make dinner for now, okay?" Harper leaned forward to place the tea cup down and scowled.

"Alice—"

"Charlotte did it. I'm sure Aunt Amber and Uncle Aro won't mind. Besides, doesn't school work come first?" She cocked an eyebrow at her mother, throwing her own very words back at her. Knowing she had said that, Harper grit her teeth but sighed in resignation. Truly, Alice was similar to her—they'd both find ways to win situations. Caius always did say they should be lawyers instead of accountants.

"Fine. But once it's done please don't skip out, okay?" Alice couldn't muster any words so she swallowed and nodded. She walked over and kissed her mom and Luke before running out and catching a cab.

She could deal with seeing Jasper in school which is why she wanted to go, but being one-on-one during dinners was too much for her. She still felt the pain in her chest whenever she even thought of his name. It was like a repeated stab. For some reason she expected to wake up and feel as though she had a nightmare, but the headache reminded her it wasn't. Jasper never came for her and no matter how many times she checked her phone, there was no text from him. He didn't even check to see if she got home alive or if she was okay. It stirred pain unlike anything else knowing that for once, her assumptions about him were completely wrong.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

At the time of lunch, Jasper felt a thumping in his chest and the blood drain from his fingertips. He was nervous to see Alice after what happened the day before. What would he say? How should he react? Would she even acknowledge him? Should _he_ acknowledge her? Questions just kept rushing through his head that he didn't even notice when Maria sat down in front of him.

She called his name multiple times but he was staring out into nothing—his eyes clearly not staring at her. Her smile fell and she frowned as she put her tray of food down.

"Don't take it personal. He's been like that since we got here." Riley yawned, shrugging his shoulder. However, Maria didn't seem to have brushed it off, so he shoved his friend until he blinked in response. His eyes seemed to have finally taken in his surroundings because he saw Maria and the empty seat _beside_ her. "Way to wake up, sleeping beauty." Riley laughed. "What the fuck is wrong with you today?"

"I'm tired." He snapped quickly, skidding his eyes back to the girl in front of him. "Where's Bella?" He asked Maria, without greeting her like he usually did. Another oddity from him made her feel awkward.

"I'm not sure. I think she was finishing helping a teacher." He gritted his teeth and that's when Riley realized that Jasper was bouncing his leg up and down furiously. His eyes narrowed at the action but taking one look at his serious face made him stay silent. "Are you alright?" Looking at the crease between Maria's brows, Jasper took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah, sorry." The awkwardness was thick in the air, considering that although Jasper apologized, he didn't make an effort to act normal. He looked on edge and his eyes were constantly scanning the area for any sign of either Bella or Alice. With five minutes left of lunch, Bella jogged into the lunchroom. Her hair was in a low ponytail and she was munching on a Rice Krispy Treat.

"Well you're late." Riley said obviously and she nodded, fanning her face.

"I know, I know." She chewed hurriedly. "I was helping Mr. Denali with some grading." She tore another piece off the treat and popped it into her mouth. "It took longer than I thought." She mumbled under her breath. Bella looked up and saw everyone looked unhappy. _Did I miss something?_

"Where's Alice?" Jasper asked in the most collected voice he could manage. Maria's head snapped to his at the question, but he looked calm. However, his outside didn't reflect how he felt inside. He was _itching_ for an answer. Bella watched the weird exchange and licked her lips.

"Um, I think she was taking a pop quiz she missed. She didn't show up to first through third period." Jasper swallowed and nodded. _She missed class?_ He thought. _It can't be that she didn't come because of me…_ The image of her crying face popped into his mind and it made him feel shitty.

Jasper walked Maria to class, per usual, though it was a little quieter than usual between them. Bella watched them go and pursed her lips.

"Is it me, or is something off?" She wondered. "I don't know why but I get the feeling that Jasper is feeling anxious."

"I noticed it too." Riley responded. "He didn't even pay attention to Maria when she first sat down. All he did was ask about you and Alice." Her frown deepened as a response. As if she read minds, Alice texted Bella asking to hang out after school. "That's weird." Riley murmured. "I mean—not that she wants to hang out with you but that she randomly texted you that."

"Something's up." She was a strong believer in women's intuition and she had a gut feeling something happened between Alice and Jasper.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Bella met up with Alice at a Starbucks down the block after school. She saw her best friend had her hair in a messy French braid, with tresses of hair framing her face. Her short-sleeved turtle neck clung to her slender frame and her nails were restlessly circling around the rim of her coffee cup.

"Al." Bella called out and Alice looked up, a few pieces of hair tickling her nose.

"Bella." She smiled, but Bella felt as though her smile didn't reach her eyes. "I got your caramel macchiato." She shook the iced drink and Bella took a sip of it while sitting down.

"Thanks!" Alice laughed and took a swig of her own espresso. "I'm surprised you wanted to hang out—especially so last minute. I know you usually hang out with Jasper or Peter." At the mention of his name, Alice's breathing hitched.

"No," She shook her head. "I'm going to be free from now on."

"How about Jasper?"

"Well he needs time to win Maria over, right." Alice forced a laugh but it was somewhat believable. If she didn't try to cover up her crazed emotions then people would catch on. She took Esme's advice to mourn and cry but that didn't mean she had to do it in front of everyone. Bella cocked her head to the side.

"And you're okay with that?"

"Mhm." Alice nodded, taking another sip of her drink. "That was our agreement." There was a small silence.

"He asked for you, by the way." Bella mentioned casually and Alice hated the way her heart jumped in happiness. She settled for rolling her eyes and switching the topic—making Bella suspicious. That was not common Alice behavior.

"How are you and Edward by the way?" Alice questioned—remembering more important matters. "Have you guys hung out?" Bella immediately forgot about anything else at the mention of Edward.

"He asked to hang out next weekend."

"Oh." Alice popped. "That's good, no?"

"I wish we could hang out this week." She blew out a piece of hair from her face. "Wishful thinking, I guess."

"Me and Peter are hanging out tomorrow." Alice mentioned softly and Bella perked up.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I can see if he'll ask Edward and we can hangout." The idea sounded like the best thing for Bella. She hadn't seen her boyfriend in two weeks and she missed him terribly. Alice wasn't necessarily a fan of Edward, but if it helped her stay out of the house then she had no choice but to use him to her convenience.

"That's actually a great plan!" She exclaimed.

"Awesome. I'll text him now." Alice whipped out her phone and texted Peter, only to pause and look up at her friend. "By the way, I'm skipping school after lunch for this. So do you want to meet up afterwards or come with me?" Bella wasn't used to cutting classes, she hardly ever did it. She only did it on special occasions. Like Edward's birthday—or their anniversary.

"Um…" She squirmed and Alice knew that she wouldn't skip with her. "I have a test after lunch so can I meet up with you guys later?"

"Sure." Alice shrugged and looked at the incoming text message. "So Edward seems to be on board with it tomorrow. We'll meet you after your test, sound good?"

"Yes!" Bella squealed happily, shaking in her seat. The thought of seeing Edward and hanging out with her friend made her feel so much better. She didn't question why he wouldn't hang out with her when she asked but would when Peter asked him. It was the furthest thing from her mind.

"I do have a request though." Alice said suddenly. "Control your boyfriend so he doesn't say anything about me and Jasper hooking up the night of his party to Peter."

"Edward wouldn't say anyth—" With one stern look from Alice, Bella zipped her lips—pressing them into a firm line—and swallowed the rest of her sentence. "Okay I'll tell him." Alice pat her friend's hands and smiled.

"Thank you."

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Jasper was fixing his belt buckle when the doorbell suddenly rang. He jumped—surprised and smoothed his hand over his hair to keep it in place. His sister walked out in her pretty maroon skirt and long light hair to open the door. The voices of Caius and Harper echoed through the wall and Jasper took a deep breath to face his best friend. After all, Alice was his best friend and he didn't want to lose that so he had to act as if nothing happened and just be nice to her to make up for the fact that she cried due to him. Alice knew he didn't like her but he didn't have to say that to her, it would hurt anyone's feelings. Harper looked at Jasper and smiled, pecking his cheek in greeting.

"Hi Auntie." Jasper greeted with a warm smile. She returned the sentiment but noticed how his eyes flickered behind her.

"Alice isn't here. Unfortunately, she has a group project she's going to be working on for the next few weeks so we won't see her for a while." _A group project?_ Jasper didn't recall Alice telling him anything about any project that would take weeks to accomplish. _Is she avoiding me?_

"It's no big deal." He gave a lame grin and carried on pointlessly throughout the night. He was withdrawn and only checked his phone to answer Maria and see if Alice would contact him.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Bella was packing her stuff to leave the school after her test when she saw Jasper roaming the halls with a bathroom pass in his hands. He saw her and waved towards her. He didn't show up to lunch this time around but did arrive to walk Maria, but by that time Bella was gone.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked and she shifted her books to her other hand. "Going somewhere?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah I'm going to meet up with Edward—"

"Ooh, boyfriend time." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively with a chuckle and she laughed, smacking his chest.

"No!" She shook her head. "I'm hanging out with Peter and Alice too like a group date." She shrugged and noticed how Jasper's smile faltered.

"Oh, they're going out now?"

"Hasn't she told you?" Bella's voice held disbelief. "I guess he invited her and she invited me and Edward." She shrugged. "I'm surprised, because she said you were moving in on Maria now." _Is that what she's going around saying?_ The thought of Alice ignoring him, who she has known for years over a petty comment, but paying full attention to the guy she likes.

"Well you should get going then, Bell." He nodded his head. "Tell her to keep me updated on her progress with Peter." At that moment, Bella's phone rang and it was Alice, telling her they were outside. Jasper tried to peek at her text but couldn't manage to read anything. "I'll see you later, Bella."

"Bye Jasper!" When she walked out she spotted Alice's tiny figure by the fence, talking with a taller male figure. When she got closer she noticed that Alice was standing right next to Peter but standing away from Edward. His bright eyes saw Bella and he gave her a lopsided grin. He looked as good as always to her and it reminded her why she fell in love with him. She ran into his arms and he pressed his lips against her temple. Alice couldn't help but feel disgust and roll her eyes at their encounter.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm hungry." Edward remarked and Bella nodded in agreement. "Let's get some pizza." Peter nodded and looked down at the girl beside her.

"Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah." She grinned. "Let's go." They made their way to the pizzeria and chatted casually amongst each other. There was small laughter here and there from each person respectively and for a moment, Alice forgot her troubles. It gave her time to forget about what was bugging her, even though it gnawed at her stomach for constant attention.

Peter had scooted closer to Alice and entwined their fingers together, genuinely shocking her. She felt a small jump in her chest but it wasn't as intense or satisfying as she had hoped for. _Was that normal?_ She ignored her doubts and squeezed his fingers back, while talking to Bella.

Jasper still couldn't ignore the irritation in his stomach but it all smoothed over once he walked Maria home. He tried to focus on just Maria and the time between them. She continuously tried to make him feel better, even when he was rude to her. He felt warm when he walked beside her and she could see how she had warmed up to him.

"I'm glad you're feeling better!" Maria squeaked happily with a pearl-like smile. He laughed and nodded.

"Thanks, you've helped me out." Her cheeks reddened and he felt she looked adorable. Something in him wanted him to spew forward what he felt. Almost as if telling him it was the right time, so he decided to follow his instincts. He stopped walking—making Maria stop as well. "Maria, I just wanted to let you know, I've had fun since talking to you."

"So have I." She beamed happily. "I'm glad we've talked more than before. I always thought you were different then what you really are."

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing." He chuckled and she laughed, nodding.

"It is."

"I just want to let you know that I like you. I've liked you since I saw you." Maria's eyes widened to the point of saucers and she froze to the spot. Her heart thumped harshly against her chest and time seemed to speed up.

"Wha-what?" She stuttered.

"Don't make me say it again." He moaned, bashfully. "You're so pretty and nice—"

"I think I like you too." Her voice was so low, Jasper thought he had imagined it all, but one look at her blushing face confirmed what he heard. His heart did a series of acrobatics like in a cheesy romantic film and before he could fully comprehend what was going on, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against Maria's. She gasped but pushed her lips back against his after a moment. Happiness flooded through his veins and any other thoughts disappeared from his mind. His hand snaked up and caressed her cheek—a notion that Maria really loved. She pulled back after a moment, but looked straight into his light brown eyes—not recognizing the subtle hints of lust in them.

"Wanna be my girlfriend?" The question took her by surprise and in seconds she was smiling from ear to ear, nodding her head repeatedly, squealing 'yes!' The rush from all that had happened hit him and he pecked her lips once more.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Some days had gone by since Alice went out with Peter, Edward and Bella. She had seen Peter a few times since then as well as hanging out with Rose. Staying away from home for no reason proved to be harder than Alice originally thought. She hadn't even been in school other than going to class.

She was feeling better than she was at first. She could still feel a heaviness in her stomach and putting a smile on her face came from mustering a lot of her will. Hanging out with Rosalie gave her a refresher—because it wasn't the same toxic environment and even though she was friends with Jasper, she hardly mentioned him.

Unfortunately for Alice, Rosalie couldn't hang out for the day because she had to work on an extra credit presentation. In Alice's slight panic, she texted Bella and luckily, she agreed to hang out before she had to go home. At the sound of the bell, Alice gathered her stuff and met up with Bella at the front doors. The two girls aimlessly walked out of school, enjoying the warmer sixty-degree weather that was sprouting. Winter was nearly over—so the weather was warming up meaning layers could start being shed. Alice wore a camel duster coat and a silk blouse beneath. Bella noticed she looked better than the other day—she wore her usual makeup and had her hair smoothed over into a slick ponytail.

"You've missed lunch for a while now." She observed randomly, making Alice skid her eyes to her friend.

"I know. I've had some things to do." The answer was short and vague which Bella found curious. She licked her lips and decided to go forward with her instincts and push forward for more concrete answers.

"You've been missed." She said and Alice's lip lifted.

"Glad to see I'm loved and adored by all." Her answer was said in a joking manner. "I doubt I missed too much. It's been like a week."

"It's been more." Bella pressed and Alice shrugged coolly.

"What could I have possibly missed?" She rolled her eyes and skipped along beside her friend.

"I mean did you know that Jasper and Maria are now officially going out?" Feet came to a sudden halt and Alice almost tripped on them. Her breathing accelerated and there was a ringing in her ears that made all sounds come through muffled. Bella noted her reaction and saw the color drain from Alice's face—even through her foundation. Her lips parted and her fingers went limp.

"What?" She countered softly. "They got together?" Somehow, Bella felt as though she put her foot in her mouth and with her friend's reaction—she was almost reluctant to continue.

"Didn't you know?" No response. Something wasn't right—the air felt cooler than the temperature. "Alice…what's happened between you and Jasper?"

"Nothing." She mouthed before shaking her head. "I was just surprised." She grinned from ear to ear—an obviously forced action. "Good for him!"

"Didn't he tell you?"

"I haven't s-spoken to him." Her voice cracked loudly, but Alice settled for swallowing and falling back into the rhythm of walking. Bella followed after her and put a hand on her friend's shoulder, her brows knitted together.

"Please tell me. What's happened?" She saw a glint in Alice's eye as well as noting how her chest moved up and down abnormally. "You guys ended it…didn't you?" Her voice trailed off as it dawned on her.

"We weren't together."

"But you were messing around. He hurt you, didn't he? What happened?" For the first time, Bella's naïve and innocent attitude was the complete opposite. She looked fierce and determined, as well as maintaining a gentleness about her. "Come." She grabbed Alice's hands in her own and walked over to sit at a bench at the end of the block. "Tell me."

"I just realized that I'm not as important to Jasper as I really thought I was." She moved her shoulders up and then down. "I was too cocky—thinking he'd always choose me…" Alice saw the way her she looked down at her lap. "All I did was tell him to stop talking about Maria right after we had sex." Her eyes narrowed and her hands balled up into fists. "Can you imagine how annoying it is to hear someone talk about the person they like when you're still in your post-coital glow?"

"Al—" Bella chimed in. "Did you develop some sort of feelings for Jasper?" Alice froze—even her hands that were in mid-air stopped.

"No."

"You sound jealous."

"I'm not." She bit back harshly and Bella decided to step back. She didn't want to cross the line and hear her go off. _She's a liar,_ she thought. _I wouldn't be surprised if she did like him._ She always did say that there was a strong probability for it because they were too involved with one another. To Bella, though, she looked in strong denial or far from realization. "But how would you feel if someone just spat that they didn't like you while you're lying naked beside them?" The acid in her voice seared her skin.

"I would be mad, I guess." She could somewhat understand Alice. On one hand, the consequences for playing with fire are hot but at the same time the degree to where she got burned didn't seem fair. Alice sniffled and quickly wiped at her eyes.

"I just need my own space. I haven't spoken to him and for a while I don't plan to. He didn't even reach out to apologize." Bella frowned.

"That's strange. He even walks you to your place on most occasions." Alice knew it was weird, she couldn't count the amount of times her phone rang and she ran to it thinking it was him. Even if he asked her if she was alright, she would have felt better, but she didn't even get that decency. "Alice…" Bella leaned forward and swiped her finger along her cheek to wipe a stray tear that fell from her eye. "Don't cry." Her hand immediately flew to her face, feeling the traitorous evidence that exposed her emotions. She had seen too many of them that the mere sight of them made her irritated. She wanted to feel better—just become who she was before all the mess. Bella gave her friend a quick hug, the action giving way to more crying. "You need this break from him. It'll be healthy until you can see him again and be unaffected." Alice gave a short, sarcastic, laugh.

"I don't have time for that. I see him for my grandmother's birthday this weekend." Bella had forgotten about the huge event. Of course, Jasper would go, meaning the two teenagers would be face to face with one another after a long time of not seeing nor speaking to one another. Bella wondered if they would talk to one another to avoid suspicions or if their pride wouldn't let them break from the attitudes they had now.

Looking at her friend's crying face she felt a tug of sympathy at her heart. It was clear that it affected her more than she led on and more than she was willing to admit. Her own omission of her feelings however would probably break her. She suppressed everything until she snapped. She had no words of wisdom or advice for the sad girl in front of her—especially since she was in her own rough situation. Although, it all made sense—the disappearing from lunch, the necessity to hang out with someone after school, the hasty dates with Peter. She seemed to be finding consolation with someone else—at least _trying_ to find consolation. While Bella thought that her finding consolation might work, the truth was muddier than that simple answer.

* * *

It was the day of Heidi's birthday party and everyone who knew her was invited. That included doctors, lawyers, accountants, family, friends, acquaintances—the whole ordeal. Jasper and his family had arrived to the Lotte at the designated time but they were still beat by half of the guest list who arrived earlier. They were dressed to the nine's in impeccable suits and dresses, accessorized by the best designers and most sparkly jewelry.

Jasper finished sending a text to Maria to tell her he had arrived to his event for the day. She was bummed they couldn't hang out but she understood he had those plans before they even started going out. So, they decided to keep in contact throughout the day via text messages.

"Jasper." Aro hissed at his son, jutting his chin at the device in his hands. "Put it away. Show some respect while in a gathering."

"I wasn't being disrespectful." Jasper argued, only for his father's eyes to narrow more. His strict attitude hadn't lessened and just because they were in public did not mean he would hide it.

"Jax." His mother called in his old childhood nickname. He looked over and saw how radiant she truly was. She shined in the room in her champagne dress with her dress neatly curled, down her back. Her makeup made her hazel eyes shine but her best accessory was her smile. Jasper was enchanted with his mother's smile since he was young—maybe it had to do with the fact that she was the only one that smiled all the time in his family. "Why don't you go find Alice and talk to Heidi?" She suggested, while cocking her head. "I'm sure she's waiting for you."

"Right." _I beg to differ._ He blew out some air—displeased by the thought of looking for Alice. They still hadn't spoken and if he knew her, then he knew she had a voodoo doll of him that she constantly pricked with needles.

He made his way through the masses of people, skimming chivalrously so he didn't bump into people or the waiters who walked around with champagne. He pulled on his cufflinks and continued to scan the area, only to see a few unfamiliar faces and some he vaguely recognized. At the end of the room he pinpointed Heidi in a beige long-sleeved dress. Her hair was up in an elegant chignon and he only caught her laughing profile. She took a swig of the champagne in her glass and thanked someone who passed by and congratulated her.

Jasper's silhouette caught her attention and when she squinted her eyes to get a closer look, she confirmed it was him. She grinned widely and waved the young man over. Alice made a face over the rim of the champagne flute.

"What're you doing, grandma?"

"Mama Heidi." Jasper cooing voice reached her ears and she felt a shiver run up her spine. Her heart raced dramatically and she suddenly felt as though her grip on the flute wasn't tight enough. "I'm glad I found you."

"You stick out like a lost puppy." She laughed, taking in appreciation the boy's suit and well-groomed appearance. His eye quirked next to her and he saw Alice's figure, sipping on her drink. She looked stunning in the beige dress that clung closely to her body. There were flower designs all on it and when she turned slightly, to place the champagne flute on a waiter's passing tray, he saw the devilish plunging neckline. He remembered she mentioned this dress because it was something unlike her to wear. His eyes moved up her body, to see how her raven-locks were placed delicately at the nape of her neck. A few strands fell around her face, emphasizing her glowing cheeks and her lusciously glossed lips. Even her petite frame stood several inches taller—probably due to her wearing heels—but it fit her well. In the days he hadn't seen her, it suddenly hit him hard her appearance. Its as if he almost forgot what she looked like and how striking she could be. Heidi noticed no bantering between them and made a face, looking at both of them. She grabbed her granddaughter's wrist in her hand and called her name. "Good morning, princess. Jasper's here, say hello."

"Hi." She said dryly, reminding him that they were in fact _not_ in good terms.

"Hey." The air was awkward and Heidi sensed it. In fact, their mood putting a damper on her own feelings. _Did something happen between these two?_ She thought, but before she could say something, someone passed by and shuffled her away in conversation. Left standing, were the two squirming kids. "The place is beautiful." Jasper pointed at the gorgeous inside view. The windows were from floor to ceiling and reflected the light of the sun in modern gray and black color scheme. The room was almost too beautiful to be in. A waiter passed by and he reached for his own champagne flute.

"It's gorgeous." Alice commented back and they fell into silence. _What was normal before all of this?_ She thought. _How did we act?_ "Where's Charlotte?" She questioned, trying to make some sort of _normal_ conversation. Jasper peeked over his shoulder and pointed mindlessly.

"Probably finding the bathroom if she didn't get swept up by one of these older people." He chuckled to himself. "Your grandma has way more friends than I can intend to have in a lifetime."

"They're not all her friends." She responded, shifting her weight onto her other foot. "My mom needed to invite some socialites as well. You know, making connections." Alice twirled her finger and shrugged. Another silence fell between them, making Alice want to run away. When she stepped back to excuse herself, he opened his mouth and said something.

"I love your dress." She quickly looked down at herself and gave a sour smile. _I should love this, no?_ She had already imagined Jasper's reaction to the dress and how he would rip it off of her when she initially bought it. Now things were slightly different.

"Thanks. I like it too." She retorted coldly and he cracked his neck. He was in a bind—because he didn't know if he wanted to address what had happened between them or not. It didn't seem like the time, but he didn't think he could afford any more awkward encounters.

"Al—" Before he could continue, Heidi's laughter cut in and both teenagers saw her walking toward them with a small entourage of men behind her.

"Here is my granddaughter." She said with a wide smile, presenting them the young woman. Alice knew that was her cue to spread her lips into a smile of her own.

"Hi, my name's Alice Brandon." She shook the gentlemen's hands as they awed at her well-mannered and refined self. "Pleased to meet you."

"Oh the pleasure is ours, Ms. Brandon." The gentleman in the navy suit said. "The resemblance between your grandmother and yourself is uncanny." He noted and at that moment all the surrounding men nodded in agreement. Heidi and Alice looked at each other and laughed.

"What a charmer." Heidi answered humorously. "Anyways, they are friends and they were excited to meet my granddaughter." She caught glimpse of Jasper. "And this is Jasper, he's close friends with my family. He basically is family."

"Pleasure." Jasper shook hands tightly with the men. A sharp high-pitched voice captured all of their attentions. Rosalie was walking towards them in a cream dress that pooled at her feet and hung on her body. Her hair was delicately pieced together into a loose braid that would resemble Greek goddesses. Her smile was bright and her blue eyes were alight with joy when she encountered the small group of people. Jasper forgot that Rose was invited—after all she had known them since they were younger and all of Alice's family knew her. Never mind the fact that Rosalie's father was a well-known bankruptcy lawyer.

"Hi guys!" She said cheerfully, quickly hugging Alice, Heidi and even Jasper. "Happy birthday Heidi! Sorry I'm late." Alice gestured to the gentlemen behind her and she whipped around to acknowledge them. "I'm sorry, where are my manners. My name is Rosalie Hale." Her convincing smile made her tardiness and blunt ignoring of them all okay. Like most people, they were entranced by Rosalie's beauty.

"Let me tell you their names." Her hand gestured to the first man. His eyes were sharp and bright blue. "This is Michael, he's a corporate lawyer. I've known him for over fifteen years." She stressed, moving onto the next one. "This is Christofer, he actually went to school with your mom for their accounting degree so he's been around."

"Now I feel old." He grumbled jokingly and she threw her head back in a fit of laughter.

"Imagine what that makes me." She snorted. "And this is Carmichael." The last man was tall—with broad shoulders and soft facial features. He didn't look as intense as the prior men, in fact if they were all on the street—Carmichael looked the most approachable. "I know his father and mother for many, many, years." She waved. "He just got remarried, right?" He nodded. "And I think he actually has a son that is about your age." She turned around and gave Alice a cynical look which Alice immediately recognized.

"Really?" Rosalie piped in. "Who is he?"

"His name's Randall." Carmichael replied, stuffing one of his hands into his pant pocket. "He's turning eighteen in a few months. He's actually looking for colleges."

"Ironically enough, he took some dance lessons, right?" Jasper recognized Heidi's strategy of trying to find a suitor for her granddaughter. She had done it plenty of times—or at least attempted it. Alice always got annoyed though and never followed through with it. He shifted his gaze to her and saw that her fake smile was twitching. "Alice was a ballet dancer for almost ten years. They should get together and—" Alice tuned out her grandmother and focused on the tray of champagne that walked past them. She wasn't in the mood to entertain her grandmother's semantics today.

Eventually, the men went their separate ways to mingle and Heidi was left with the three younger adults. She tilted her head and clasped her hands together.

"You have to put a smile on your face, sweetheart. That's how you'll find the perfect man."

"But she's already found someone." Rosalie cut in and everyone snapped their heads towards the tall beauty. Alice's eyes went wide and Rose realized she opened her mouth too much.

"Really, who is that?" _Whoops._

"This guy named, Peter." If she already messed up, might as well mess up all the way. It wasn't a taboo for them to know who Peter was. In fact, they'd know soon enough if Alice brought him around—Rose just hurried the process. "His dad's a really well-known cosmetic surgeon." It clicked in Heidi's mind who it was and she beamed.

"Really? That's great that you're with Andrew's kid!" She exclaimed happily. "He was invited today—I'm surprised he didn't show…"

"They had to take a trip upstate." Peter had told her beforehand so she knew he wouldn't show up. It kind of made things a little harder for her knowing she didn't have a backup.

"There's always another time!" She cheered. "That's a nice family—"

"And you'll have someone who will do your boobs for free if you marry him." Rosalie spit out nonchalantly, before everyone—except Jasper—bubbled with laughter.

"Shut up!" Alice bumped Rose's hip and fell into another fit of laughter. "I think my non-existent girls look great tonight." Rose grabbed her friend's hand and made her do a small spin.

"The dress is gorgeous."

"If only Peter was here." Heidi sighed exaggeratedly, lying her cheek against the inside of her palm. Alice's mouth hung open.

"Grandma!" She whisper-yelled. Rose realized the only silent one through this whole ordeal was Jasper. He just stood beside the two women with a straight face. He didn't even blink at one point—creeping Rosalie out. It's as if he was somewhere else—thinking of god knows what.

"What's wrong with you?" She called out.

"We'll find you a nice girl too, Jasper, I can handle this." Heidi was now a self-proclaimed matchmaker in her mind. He needed someone with a strong attitude to hold him down—if someone was too soft he'd dominate her or get bored. That's the type of personality he had in her eyes. He was a troublemaker and enjoyed things that made him live on the edge. He had hints of her late husband in him that she recognized—and he had always said that her strong-willed nature helped him to never stray.

"I already have a girlfriend, mama." His answering smile was brilliant and it made everyone—except one person's—eyebrows jump up.

"Really? And who is the wild child that captured your wandering heart?"

"This girl named Maria." He sighed dreamily. "She's beautiful and kind." Heidi pursed her lips and ticked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

"Do we know her?"

"You might not, because she's not really from a renowned family." Rose shrugged. "But we do. She goes to school with Alice and Jasper. So, you finally got her? Good for you!" She gave him a hug and shoved his shoulder. "You drooled for her enough, glad you took some action." He gave her a harmless side eye. "You didn't tell me anything, Al." She whined while Alice cracked her fingers.

"I didn't know." _Lie._ She knew by this point but no one but her and Bella knew that. Jasper just watched her be an unfazed ice princess and had to look away from her.

"That's great though, because you're both getting who you wanted. Bring her around some time!" Rosalie wasn't too aware of how much that statement actually irked Alice. She wanted to cover her friend's mouth and tell her to shut up. "Anyways, I want a picture to post on Instagram. Take it, Jasper!" She opened the clutch she carried and nearly dropped her phone in the process.

"Careful there, clumsy." He smirked and she flicked him off, passing over her phone. She quickly wrapped her arm around Alice's back, surprising her.

"Come on, Al, strike your pose." Alice hesitatingly wrapped her own arm around Rosalie's back and turned to face the iPhone camera that Jasper held. Instantly, her eyes hazed over with a different look and her lips lifted very slightly for a faint smile effect. Her cheekbones stuck out sharply against her skin. She tilted her hips subtly, angling them so her waist looked smaller than usual, while her opposite hand laid against her side. Jasper looked at the girl's natural pose through the phone and hesitated before pressing the button to take the photo. He didn't even care about Rosalie, his eyes lingered for a moment on his friend and if it wasn't for Rosalie yelling at him to hurry up, he probably would have stayed staring.

He pressed the button multiple times, catching the tall girl yelling at him in the first two. The others however looked beautiful and he had to admit that they were some of the most attractive women he had seen. Especially in a setting like this. He saw Alice's neck crane behind him and he took a glance in that direction to see Charlotte walking towards them. Her eyes were glued to her phone and her forehead creased with worry lines. She looked stressed, especially with her back hunched over and her arms kept close to her sides while her fingers flew over the screen keyboard.

"Charlotte." She called loudly, gaining the attention of a few people around her who turned and looked at her. She ignored them and passed by Jasper, leaving a sweet scent from her perfume as she winded by. She had noticed the anxious look of the girl since she came into view and was concerned. "Hey." She repeated, stepping in front of the girl and gripping her arms with her hands.

Charlotte jumped at the feeling of cool skin on hers and looked up to see Alice. Her face showed curiosity and her eyes flickered down to Charlotte's phone.

"Alice." She breathed.

"Are you alright? You look stressed out." Her voice coaxed the words and buttered Charlotte to open up.

"I'm fighting with Vladimir." She mumbled and Alice's brows scrunched together.

"Your boyfriend?" She had remembered that Charlotte had been going out with someone. It had to be a month since she told her—but she hadn't seen her so she forgot. Alice realized she looked exactly like Bella when she was fighting with Edward. Like a sad child who had seen their puppy being kicked. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure. He's just been snapping a lot lately." Her voice was genuinely confused and her lips formed a scowl. "Sometimes he doesn't even answer my texts or phone calls. He gets annoyed if I message him again, but he won't answer me if I don't do that." She looked stressed and huffed out, her skin turning a bright pink color on her cheeks. She clearly needed to vent to someone.

"Then don't answer him, Char." Alice responded but she saw that the girl didn't like her advice. She took a deep breath and skipped over to link arms with her. She looked down at Charlotte and smiled. "I know its not what you want to hear, but make him want you."

"Sometimes I don't think he does anymore, but its only been three months, how can that happen?" Her voice quivered towards the end.

"Feelings change." Alice explained. "Sometimes in a—" _snap._ "Snap."

"But I don't want them too." She whined with a pouting bottom lip. "Alice, help me." The girl turned around, clasping Alice's hands tightly with the constriction of a boa. Alice blinked in response and for once felt speechless.

"I—" Jasper watched the exchange with curiosity and had the itch to go over when he saw his sister's actions. Something had to be wrong and he felt excluded from that. He doubted that Alice would tell him this time around. "I can't promise you anything." She bit her lip, feeling sympathy from her. "I would just advise you to pull back for a bit. You're too invested in this." To Charlotte, Alice's voice was condescending and it struck ire in her. She ripped her hands away and swallowed.

"You were in love with Jin too!" She hissed viciously, really throwing Alice off-guard. That was an attitude unlike her… _What's happening to her?_

"Yes, but I was also with Jin for two years." She murmured and Charlotte stomped her foot.

"Just because I'm with Vlad less than you and Jin doesn't mean I can't love him." She argued.

"No one said that." Alice responded in a clipped tone. "What I'm trying to say is that just like me and Jin, love at our age can change in an instant."

Jasper's eyes were still trained on them and Rose noticed his tense posture. His jaw was taut and his eyes were narrowed. She turned to his line of vision and saw the tense exchange between the two young women that caused people passing by to take a glance at them.

"You should go, something looks—" Before she could finish her sentence, Jasper raced over there in the most calming manner he could manage without causing any more onlookers. In front of him, he saw Alice looking at his sister with a raised eyebrow and unmoving eyes while Charlotte's nostrils were flared.

"What's going on?" He whispered, looking from each party. However, neither removed their vision from the other until Charlotte's phone vibrated. She broke eye contact and took the chance to walk away. Alice's firm form slouched slightly and it was Jasper's turn to give her a strange look. His fingers barely touched her arm and she flinched. "What happened between you and Charlotte?"

"Nothing." She retorted harshly. She took a moment to take a deep breath and realign her psyche. "Just be careful with her, alright?" It was one of the first times during the day that she acknowledged him directly. He nodded and she took her cue to walk away when her mother called, leaving him dumbfounded in the middle of the floor.


End file.
